The Flower and the Flame
by MasterQwertster
Summary: She was just the gardener at the local temple, but when she accidentally unseals a shrine she gets thrown head first into the world of yokai and yokai hunters. She'll need the help of her newly unsealed friend if she wants to even have a chance at surviving, good thing he has no intention of letting her die.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

Alright, this is my first fanfic ever, so please be easy on me. I will being using the most recent Bleach chapters out there for the story, so you've been warned. This is also an Alternate Universe fic. I'm trying this in first person and who's narrating will change, but I might go back and do it in third person if nobody likes it. Please enjoy _The Flower and the Fire._

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"That's not what I asked about, Orihime. I asked if you were being treated all right over there. And they better be treating you nicely or I'll have to come over there and crack some skulls!" she replied and I could imagine the flames surrounding her fist with her declaration.

"No, no, Tatsuki-chan. That's not necessary, they all treat me really nicely." I was quick to reassure her, frantically waving the hand that wasn't holding my phone before my face. "Sado-kun said he saw some bunnies today and he loves cute things like the bunnies even when they get into the garden patch. Rukia-chan loves the bunnies too, but Abarai-kun says that we should get rid of them or they'll run the gardens. Momo-chan says the bunnies are fine if they'll just leave the vegetables alone and Rangiku-san doesn't really care. I think the bunnies are adorable, but I know the brown spotted ones are planning to invade the little blue men's home and steal all their carrots!"

"Uh huh. Well, glad you seem to be doing well there, kiddo. You take care of yourself and call me if anything goes wrong, okay? And don't try to reason yourself out of calling by thinking you'll be a burden, remember, I _want_ to be there for you. And don't forget to call me next week, got it! I was worried sick when you forgot to call." Tatsuki sternly reminded me.

"I'm so sorry for making you worry, Tatsuki-chan. I'll definitely remember to call next week. So take care, and good luck in your tournament, Tatsuki-chan! I know you'll win 'cause Tatsuki-chan is a super ninja with super karate powers!" I cheer for her.

Her chuckles sound through the phone. "Yeah, you take care too. I'll talk to you next week." She replies fondly, then the phone line goes dead.

I sighed to myself as I shut my cell phone and returned it to the top of the dresser. I love Tatsuki like the sister I never had, but sometimes I think she worries a bit too much about me. Not that I don't love her caring about me, because I really do like that she cares, it just makes me feel like a burden with her constantly worrying over me. Besides, I've been working at the Daitaiyo temple for almost three months now and it's not like everyone's going to change just because I finally decided to take up the offer of living at the temple. In all honesty, it was one of the offered perks for becoming a gardener/groundskeeper there, the only reason I didn't take up the offer until now was that I had been doing just fine in my apartment until it got shut down for some health code violations found in the lower units a few days ago. I didn't have anywhere to go and Tatsuki and her family had already left for her karate tournament, so I asked if the offer was still open and got lucky.

"Hime~~!" Rangiku sing-songed as she poked her head through the door to my room. "Don't stay up to late, I know you've got school tomorrow and we girls need our beauty sleep."

"Hai, Rangiku-san!" I chirp happily. "I just finished talking with Tatsuki-chan and was just getting ready to go to bed!"

She smiles at me and tells me goodnight as she retreats back down the hallway.

I quietly slip out of my clothes and into my pajamas before turning out the lights and crawling into my futon. I look to the picture frame on a small table next to my dresser and quietly whisper "Good night, Onii-chan." and fall fast asleep.

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I sit quietly in my small prison, still wishing for a way out, but knowing that it can only be opened by something from the outside. I really want to see it, the garden she says is now blooming around my prison, the one she so tenderly and eagerly describes to me. I want to see the friends and brother that she tells me all about when she finishes telling me about the flowers. And I want to see her, to see the one who has so willingly given such kindness to a sealed monster like me.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

Yay! chapter two! This is some more setting and gets the plot rolling a bit. now enjoy!

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Renji and Rukia were already arguing about something while Sado sat beside them quietly eating. Momo was bringing out breakfast for me, Rangiku, and herself from the kitchen, while Rangiku was nowhere to be seen. "Better hurry up and eat or we'll be late to class." Momo cheerfully reminds me as she sets down our breakfast.

"Right!" I cheerily reply, inhaling the scent of the omelet Momo has so kindly cooked me for breakfast. "It smells delicious, so I'm sure I'll finish it in no time!" and with that comment I dug into my omelet. About halfway through my omelet, Rangiku came in still looking sleepy.

"Ugh, I don't know how you all get up so early without feeling like zombies." she loudly complained as she lazily flung herself into the chair before her own omelet.

"That's because those four have school and I'm not lazy like you." was Renji's blunt reply.

Rangiku immediately started berating Renji and arguing that she wasn't lazy and that everyone who got up early when they didn't have to were crazy. Renji just argued back until Rukia hit him in the back of the head and told him to stop being so childish. I had to stifle my giggles in my napkin before excusing myself to go finish preparing for school.

Rangiku is the oldest among us at 25 while Renji is 19 and had only just graduated high school. Rukia, Sado, Momo, and I are all still in high school. Rukia is a senior even though she is shorter than both me and Momo, something that Renji likes to annoy her about constantly. Momo, Sado, and I are all juniors, which some people find hard to believe since Sado is the tallest of all of us. Rukia's brother also lives at the temple, actually he owns the temple, but I don't see him around very often. To tell you the truth, I've only met him twice, once when I interviewed to get my job here and the second time when I was hired. Rukia says he's gone often because he works with some organization that helps manage a lot of old temples and that they keep him very busy.

We all left for school together, waving good bye to Renji as he headed out to perform whatever maintenance duties he had lined up for today. The walk to school from the temple wasn't too long, just two or three minutes longer than what it was from my old apartment. It was nice to not be alone on the walk like I had been last week with Tatsuki gone to her tournament. When we reached the school Rukia and Momo went their separate ways while Sado and I stuck together since we were in the same class. After Sado gently kept Chizuru from glomping me and taking advantage of Tatsuki's absence again, the bell rang and classes started.

At lunch I ate with Rukia, Momo, and some other friends I'd made at school and Rukia kept Chizuru off of me there with a well-placed punch. I really need to ask her where she and Tatsuki learned how to take people out with one punch so I can go learn how to do it. Then I could be a super hero that would take people out with one punch, but then I'd get bored of being a super hero because no one could stand a chance against me. I simply let my mind wander down the path of being a super hero as I absently finished my lunch until the bell snapped me out of my musings. I packed up my lunch and headed back to class with the other girls.

After school was let out, we made our way back to the temple so we could get started on our jobs. Rukia and Momo, as well as Rangiku, work inside the temple cleaning and hosting the guests and the tourists. My job is to make sure our gardens bloom and look beautiful. I get to pick the flowers for some of the gardens while I have to make sure that others grow properly. I also maintain the temple's vegetable garden that we sometimes sell the extras from. Sado's job is to help Renji with the maintenance and me with the gardening and grounds keeping when I need it.

After I changed out of my school uniform and in to the more traditional outfit I was supposed to where while on the job I went outside to tend the gardens, quietly humming to myself in contentment. It was hot out today, but that was to be expected since it was mid-August and fall still hasn't set in yet. I was quite pleased with myself when I found I had cared for all the gardens but still had time before dinner, so I quietly snuck to one of the back gardens where a faint trail led off into the forest behind the temple. Following the small and almost completely overrun path that I had walked nearly every day for the past three months, I soon found myself in a small clearing filled with flowers. There were purple daisies, gold irises, some ume, pink lilies, altheas and red camellias, but my favorite were the blue daisies whose blooms looked so much like the flower hair pins my brother gave me before he died. In the center among all the flowers that I had planted here was a small shrine that only reached up to my shoulder made with wood painted red and with a little roof on it. The center of it was a box that was completely sealed shut and the whole thing was covered in talismans, tags, and ropes. On a stone much like a grave marker something was inscribed, but time had worn it away until only one character was still legible. I moved into the clearing and greeted the shrine, "Ohayou, Guardian-kun!"

Later, I joined everyone for dinner as we all talked about our day. After that Sado, Rukia, Momo, and I got together and did our homework. It was late when we finished, so I only had a quick bath before turning in for the night. "Good night, Onii-chan, it was nice talking to you and Guardian-kun today." I whispered quietly to the picture before drifting off to sleep.

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"I want you to check all the seals on the temple grounds, there has been suspicious activity in the area as of late. Keep your guards up and take no risks. Do I make myself clear?" the question is spoken softly but all can hear it in the dark room lit by torches placed in stands around the room.

"Hai, Kuchiki-taicho," comes the reply from five voices.

"And Rukia,"

"Yes, nii-sama?"

"Make sure that girl stays in the dark about these duties."

"Hai, nii-sama."

"I will take tonight's watch. Dismissed."

One by one, the five figures slip from the room, until only one is left. He silently extinguishes the torches before departing himself to patrol for the night.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**

Here's chapter three. In case you were wondering, Daitaiyo should translate as Great Sun from Japanese to English, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, and the flowers in the prison garden are all of the Shun Shun Rikka flower types by their name according to the Bleach wiki. Anywho, enjoy the story!

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I couldn't help but pout at the ruined flower bed. I guess the bunnies were not so good to have around. Many of the flowers had been chewed upon or uprooted and the soil had been flung around and onto the pathways. The flower bed was just a mess and it would take a while to clean the mess they made and even longer to get the flowers fully blooming again. Dreading how long it might take, I got down on my knees and got to work.

I ended up finishing earlier than I expected since Sado and Renji both ended up helping me clean up. After washing up a bit, I saw that I had about half an hour before dinner and decided to go see Guardian-kun.

"… and I was able to convince Abarai-kun to make a pin to put the bunnies we catch in so we can keep them like pets! We could even sell some of them as pets to visitors, don't you think it's a great idea Guardian-kun?" A small breeze washes through the clearing just barley causing the flower heads to nod.

"Well, I think it's a great idea!" I pout back at him. At least, I'm pretty sure Guardian-kun is a 'he' and that he makes gusts of wind to express yes's and no's when I ask him questions. "And I'm sure Onii-chan agrees with me!" I declare while looking at the small picture of him in my wallet leaning against Guardian-kun's marker.

"Anyways, I was thinking of planting some new flowers here. Maybe some daffodils or poppies. What do you think, Guardian-kun?" A warm and stronger breeze moves through the clearing causing the flower heads to nod enthusiastically. "Alrighty then, I'll just need to go to the store and get some seeds. Maybe I can go with Abarai-kun when he goes to get wire fences and traps for the bunny pen." I muse out loud bringing a hand up to my chin. I glance down at my watch and notice that it's only three minutes 'til dinner starts. "Oh no!" I squeal out. "I'm going to be late for dinner and then the little green men will eat my dinner and I'll have no dinner and starve to death overnight and …" A sharp cool wind snaps past me pulling me out of my rambling. "Ah, right! I should be going. Thanks, Guardian-kun, I'll try to come see you tomorrow, too." I quickly scoop up my wallet before making a quick bow to the shrine and marker and then scurry away to wash up before I'm late for dinner.

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She really worries me sometimes, going overboard with her imaginative thoughts of what will happen when things go wrong. At least I think they're imaginative, if not, I might just have a panic attack if she doesn't come back tomorrow.

I'm really not sure that keeping bunnies in a pen will turn out the way she thinks it will, after all, it just sounds like a good way to "grow" your own meat if you ask me. However, I have no means to tell her that and she seems excited about the idea, so I gave her a polite agreement.

I'm not sure why she feels the need to ask me about planting flowers here. She can do whatever she likes with the outside of my prison, I don't get to see it anyways. But it's nice, that she thinks that my opinion is important, that she actually asks and pays attention to me. I don't think I could turn down her requests to garden here anyways, it gives her more to tell me about, more of a glimpse into the world outside these wooden walls.

I appreciate all that she does for me because I know she doesn't have to, and more than that, I'm fairly certain she's not supposed to be talking to me either. But she does this anyway, and I worry for her.

I tried to drive her off during the first week with chill winds and killing intent, but maybe she could sense that I didn't mean it, because she kept coming back, talking to me as she supposedly cleaned out the weeds and planted a garden around my prison. I was called stubborn when I was free, but maybe isolation like this has softened me, because I gave up trying to drive her away after one week. Instead I began to look forward to and crave the time that she would come close to my prison and babble on about everything that she did.

I actually got mad when she started talking to this "Onii-chan" thinking that maybe she wasn't coming to me out of the kindness of her heart, but as some sort of duty to try and tame me, to turn me docile and usable for whatever order now had control of this prison. I'm sure she picked up on my rage, I've never been one to control my powers too well when incited with negative emotions, hell, that's half the reason I'm even in this stupid box. She must have guessed that "Onii-chan" was making me upset, so she explained how he had passed five years previously, how he had raised her since she was three, how she liked to talk to him up in "heaven," how my prison area seemed like a peaceful place to talk, and how she wanted me to meet him and hoped we could get along. The anger just melted right out of me at those heart felt words and left me feeling like a total ass for being so petty about the whole thing. I'm pretty sure she cried during her explanation, too, but I honestly can't be completely certain of things outside these stupid wooden walls.

She is my light in this unending darkness. If I get out, I'll protect her with all I have, I owe her at least that much for all that she's done for me. I may be a monster, but I think I've still got a heart in here somewhere, broken and scarred, and right now, she's the one holding it together.

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"Do you understand the plan?"

"Yes, my lord." A voice growls back from the shadows before the impromptu throne in the warehouse. "I am to go to the Daitiayo temple tonight and break the stone seals in the gardens while a sleep is cast over the shinigami and fullbringer in residence. After the sealed are released we are to attack and kill the guards so that we may over run the temple."

"Very good. And remember, no witnesses. Now go, and don't come back if you're caught. "

The figure slinks out of the shadows and leaves the warehouse, slipping out into the dark night as the rain begins to pour down.

"Do you think he'll succeed?" a soft monotone voice inquires.

"Tch, like a weakling like that will actually come outta there alive with a bunch of angry sealed finally gettin' free. Right, _my Lord_?" a gruff, sarcastic voice answers.

"Yes, I doubt he'll come back, but it doesn't really matter if he does or not. His job is to test their defenses and, if he's lucky, free your brethren to wreak havoc upon them, giving him a slight chance at surviving this night." The lord's smooth, velvet voice replies. "And do not make me remind you to mind your manners again, am I clear?"

"Yes sir." The other growls back, discontent obvious in his voice.

"Now back to your duties, both of you. There is still much to be done before my plan comes to fruition."

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	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**

All the reviews and follows so early in the development of this story make me so very happy. Thank you all so much!

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I jerked awake to the sound of rain pounding down on the roof. I look around my room because there's no way the rain would have woken me since it was already raining by the time I fell asleep. Seeing nothing amiss in my room, I decide to investigate outside. Opening the sliding door that leads to the outdoor walkway rather than the hallway, I quietly slip outside. It's hard to see anything through the rain and there's nothing to lighten the darkness outside. I don't know why, but I just have the feeling that something is out there in the rain.

I go back to my room for a moment to grab my umbrella before sliding down to the ground below the deck to begin my search. I quietly meander through the gardens looking for anything out of place, but I still can't find anything wrong. The wet grass tickles my feet as the gravel paths are uncomfortable to my bare feet. The feeling of unease, which I'm beginning to suspect is what woke me up, continues to grow as my search stretches out. I'm beginning to feel a sense of urgency, as if something terrible will happen if I can't figure out what's wrong in time.

As I jog around the corner of the secondary building I see it, a figure with what looks like a sledge hammer dragging along the ground behind it. They're heading towards the statue garden and I'm not sure if I should confront them or turn and run for help. I stood there frozen for a moment before something in my head tells me it's better to run, so I take a step back.

_Crack_

I freeze once more as the sound of the twig that I swear wasn't there before snaps under my bare foot. I hold my breath, hoping the sound of the rain drowned out that one twig snap. That hope is crushed when the figure's head snaps around to stare directly at me. Then the fear sets in as I notice small details I had missed before, like the weird angle of his knees, how the figure's arms seem to be too long, how there seems to be a tail swaying at their backside, and how the figure's head seems highly reminiscent of a dog's. A voice inside my head is screaming at me to run away, that this figure before me is dangerous and I must get away, but I just stand there frozen by this building fear.

"Dammit, that stupid sleeper spell didn't get'em all!" the growling voice of the figure curses, before letting lose a string of profanities as he drops the sledge hammer and darts towards me.

But it's too late, his voice has snapped me out of it and I've already turned and sprinted away, dropping my umbrella so that it can't hold me back. I weave and dart through the buildings and gardens, letting my feet guide me as I listen through the rain for the sounds of my pursuer. Fear and more adrenalin pump through my veins as I realize that he's catching up to me. I push myself to run faster, to lose my pursuer and make it to whatever destination it is that my feet have deemed safe for me.

"You're not getting away, girly." the thing breathes down my neck. I quickly swerve to the side watching as claws flash through the space I just occupied. I can't help but wonder if it's possible to get more frightened than what I already am, seeing as I'm being chased by some sort of _werewolf_.

As I run, I notice one of the tool sheds that are scattered among the gardens and, more importantly, a shovel leaning on the side of the shed. I dart forward and grab the shovel before abruptly pivoting around to swing the shovel at this thing's head. I'm not someone who likes or condones violence, but at this point I was feeling desperate and swung at him with everything I had. I got lucky and hit him square in the nose. He stumbled backward, howling in pain before it quickly turned to a snarl of anger, "You bitch!" Not knowing what else to do, I let the instinct Tatsuki had instilled in me when she taught me self-defense kick in and swung the shovel at his head once more. I got lucky again and sent him reeling once more, letting lose a very colorful string of profanities directed at me, but this time I didn't waste a moment listening to him and threw the shovel at him, darting off again. I really hoped that the pain would hold him off long enough for me to get a decent head start.

Fear just seemed to like holding my heart tonight, because it tightened its grip when I heard the voice of that thing take off after me. With an extra spurt of speed, I found myself moving swiftly down that old, barely-there path. I knew where my feet are taking me now and I sincerely hope that if werewolf things exist, then he does too.

I burst from the path and into the clearing, immediately diving to the left because I could feel that thing behind me. It slammed into the shrine, knocking some of the talismans, tags, and ropes off and leaving a crack in the central box.

Lightning lit up the sky as he detangled himself from the shrine and I could see him clearly. He wore pants down to what I had to assume was the knee seeing as that's where his legs bent, though they bent the wrong way for a human. A lose button-down, fleece shirt was left open on his torso, showing off a well-muscled chest covered in a thick fur. In fact, his whole body looked to be covered in fur. His arms were long, leaving his fingers to brush his knees and his fingers were tipped in long claws, ready to shred his prey. I swallowed realizing that those claws would likely be sinking into me. And his head was shaped just like a wolf's head, but the most frightening part of him to me was his eyes. His eyes were wild and feral, and when he looked at me with those eyes I could tell that I was nothing more that prey to him.

"End of the road for you, girly. Now you get to pay for trying to hurt me with that damn shovel." he growled at me as he slowly advanced forward. I scooted away from him, crawling from my position where I had fallen to the ground avoiding him. I was shaking in my terror and he chuckled in a merciless way that said he enjoyed my terror. Raising up a clawed hand in preparation to strike, he growled out a single word, "Die."

And an inhuman roar sounds from behind him.

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I watched as the lycanthrope moved towards the stone seals of the temple and prepared to make my move. I had been following this guy for half the night, so I knew that the normal guards of this place had been cast under a sleeping spell. Just as I was about to strike, the guy turns around, curses, and then starts chasing the human girl who has sighted him. I'm not sure how I failed to notice her and it's a stain on my pride and career that I didn't, but now I'll have to wait and see how she handles herself. It's unfortunate, but we've got rules about being seen, and seeing as I'm not supposed to be here anyway, I'll have to wait.

She does surprisingly well by my book and I find her actions with the shovel truly inspired. It's a shame it'll take more than that for her to win, but she does a good job for a regular human. She runs again and we end up at a shrine tucked out of the way with a bunch of signs of sealing, but I don't sense the usual malice of someone being sealed here, so I guess it's a dunce. He's got her corned and on the ground now, but I won't hesitate this time to take him down because a girl like that shouldn't have to die. However, both he and I made a miscalculation. The shrine that he crashed into is not a fake decoration set to trap people like him. It is real, and its contents have just been set free.

And it doesn't sound happy at all.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**

Here's chapter 5. This thing is nearly twice as long as any previous chapter, so please do enjoy!

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_And an inhuman roar sounded from behind him._

An intense heat fills the clearing, creating a small amount of steam as some of the rain evaporates. Before my assaulter could turn, he was howling in agony as he was engulfed in what appeared to be a black flame. He fell to his knees and raised that clawed hand again before something grabbed him from behind, holding him up by the back of his neck. When he continued to reach for me it seems whatever held him lost its patience and a snap resounded in the clearing as his body went limp. His burning corpse was unceremoniously tossed aside. It sailed out of the clearing before slamming into a tree and falling to the ground with a thump.

Lightning flashed once more. I could now see my rescuer and I wasn't sure if this was better or worse.

He was looking straight at me, and I knew it was a "he" because I'd be very surprised if a girl could have a chiseled chest and torso like that, for he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Black was dancing on the edges of my vision as I looked up at what I suppose could be described as a demon. Then he spoke.

"_Are you alright_?" his voice was doubled toned, almost as if a second person was speaking with him.

I start a bit at his voice. My tongue feels heavy, so I nod my affirmation that I am unharmed to him. The black was encroaching further into my vision as I struggled to remain conscious, but it was a lost battle. As the darkness swallowed me, the last thing I saw was the monster who rescued me moving forward towards my tilting figure.

* * *

I could hear it, the rain pounding down on the roof over my prison. It was ruining my good mood from her visit.

I hate the rain. Whenever my world took a turn for the worse, it rained. I'm not sure if it's the universe's way of saying "screw you" or just coincidence, but it sure feels a lot like the former rather than the later. I don't hate it quite so much as I used to, oh who am I kidding, I still hate it with a burning passion, but she likes it, so I guess I'll tolerate it and try to hate the rain a little less.

In my attempt to better tolerate the rain, I decided to stay up and listen to it pound against the roof. It sounds like a hell of a storm out there, I wouldn't be surprised if I hear some thunder soon.

Then I feel it. Her presence bursts into my prison area and it is filled with fear and desperation. Close on her heels comes the presence of a yokai filled with pain, anger, and killing intent. I have never wanted so badly to be free of this damned prison then that moment when I realized that she was going to die right in front of me. If she truly died on this night, my heart would likely fall apart again and I'm not sure if it would be possible to fix it any more. And I'd have another bastard on my _Things to Kill_ list, something I really need to complete. It's too bad that I can only get back to working on it once someone lets me out of the damned box.

Suddenly, the whole box is shaking. And then, _there's a crack_. There's a crack in the box and the seals are almost non-existent. I don't hesitate, I barely think, and I charge that crack and force my way out of that damnable prison.

I quickly work on assuming a physical form, but it's taking longer than I want. She's in danger and I'll be damned if I don't save her because I've been nothing more than a ball of flame for the past however the hell long and have trouble getting a proper form. As I finish the transformation, noting in the back of my mind that it's _that _form, I turn to the bastard that would kill her, ready to take him down.

A roar of challenge and rage rips its way free of my throat. I can see him flinch. I can sense, I can smell his fear at my challenge and it stirs a sadistic pleasure in me that he is scared. Before the bastard can do anything, I set him ablaze. My rage fuels the flames, the rain has no hope of extinguishing them. I won't let him die a peaceful death, he will writhe and burn before he can even consider the cool embrace of death. But that stubborn _bastard_ reaches for her in an attempt to land that damned attack on her. I won't let him touch her, so I grab him by the back of the neck, only checking my grip enough to make sure his neck isn't snapped. A growl, barely audible to human ears, but I know that this _thing _in my grip can hear it, slips up my throat. It's his final warning, if he doesn't stop, I will end him, right now. He reaches again and that little control I have slips as my rage climbs one more. The snap of his neck from my tightened grip is music to my enraged mind.

I have no use for this burning corpse, so I toss it outside the garden of this _shrine_, I can actually call it that now that I'm not trapped in the damn thing. She's worked too hard on growing these flowers for them to be wrecked by the_ thing_ that tried to kill her.

My rage lessens to a simmer with the threat to her safety removed and I realize that I have yet to see her. I'm not sure if I want to see her now. What if she's not as beautiful as I think she must be? What if she doesn't really care about me? What if she's _scared of me_? What if she's _hurt_? The questions keep running through my head, but the one that eats at me is '_What if she _hates _me?_' I'm not sure I could deal with that realization, not when I've spent the last three months with only her company and grown so attached to her.

I can handle her not being beautiful, I like her as a person, her appearance hardly matters to me. I can handle her not caring for me, I can just care for her and work on getting her to like me. I can handle her fear, being made of fire, I can pick a form that isn't terrifying. I could try being a bunny, she thinks those are cute, even if they are useless in a fight. I can maybe handle her being hurt. I'll probably freak out a bit and get angry about not making that bastard suffer longer, but I'll take care of her. If she's bleeding too much I can cauterize the wound, if she can't move I can take her to safety, I can take care of her.

But if she _hates me_, I don't know what to do. When I hate something, I do my best to destroy it so it can't bother me again, at least when it's not a force of nature, stupid rain. I couldn't hurt her, it just wasn't a possibility for me, so if she attacked me, tried to end me, I could only run. I won't, I can't fight her. I'm a monster, but I could never hurt her, even if she hates me.

Even with this inner turmoil, that desire to see her lays underneath it all. So I steel my nerves and turn towards her.

Lightning flashes and I get a clear view of her. She's more beautiful than anything I could have imagined, though I suppose that's not saying much considering I'm not very imaginative and it's been a long time since I've seen anyone, or even anything. She is so soaked by the rain that her hair and all her clothes are stuck to her. She sits upon the ground with her legs curled before her. Her clothing is strange, she wears pants, but they are not hakama or gi, and her top is not a kimono or yukata, but rather something very form fitting, leaving no guesses about how generous her bust is. In fact, her figure in general seems to fit what I have heard many men describe as ideal: long legs, smooth skin, and curves galore. I quickly track my eyes up because I'm a _monster_, not a _pervert_. She has long hair, the color is hard to guess with the lighting, but if asked to guess, I would say some shade of brown. Her face is an oval and smooth without blemish. Plush lips and a button nose decorate her face.

Now for my moment of truth, to look into her eyes and see what she thinks of me. My eyes flick up and I internally wince. Fear. It is written clearly in her eyes and I resign myself to the potential fate of bunnydom, but I'll try assuring her I mean no harm first. Besides I need this question answered.

"_Are you alright_?"

Shit. I see her twitch at the sound of my voice. Dammit, how could I forget I was in _that_ form and how it doesn't sound human when I talk? But then she breaks me from those thoughts by nodding her head. Relief washes through me, I was able to help her in time. Then the fear returns as she begins to topple over sideways. I rush forward and catch her before she hits the ground. I gently cradle her and shake her shoulders to see if I can get her to wake up. She won't wake.

I let lose a small sigh before lifting her into my arms and cradling her against my chest. I've decided I'll return her to her rooms in the temple. It shouldn't be too hard since she once described the place to me and I should be able to smell which one is hers once we're out of the rain. I quietly set off down the small trail that leads away from this place, careful not to jostle her. I can't help but treat her like glass, she feels so fragile in my arms.

As I tread the paths to the building she has told me she has recently been moved into, I notice that she seems to be getting cold, so I raise my body temperature to help keep her warm. I look up and notice an open door to the outside deck. Her scent just barely wafting out of the room. I climb on to the deck and out of the rain. We're both soaked to the bone and I know without a proper heat source she'll get sick if left to dry on her own. Letting lose another sigh, I heat the air around us causing steam to lift from our figures as the water evaporates off of us. Once I'm satisfied that she is properly dried and warmed, I place her in the futon on the floor and tuck her in.

I look around to see that her room is sparsely decorated, just a dresser, desk, and small table are in the room. There is a line of dolls, all shaped like animals, on a shelf. I notice a picture on the table and quietly move over to look at it. It is a smiling young man with shoulder length hair and the beginnings of some western style top visible. I guess this must be her brother as she told me she kept a picture of him in her room. Next to the frame are the two hair pins that were a gift from her brother. I gently brush my fingers against them, placing a small spark in each so that if she's ever put in danger I can use those sparks to sense it and race to her side to help. They should work well since she wears them every day.

As I withdraw my hand, I freeze. I'm looking around a girl's room uninvited and she's unconscious in the room with me. Shit, shit, shit! The implications and possible accusations race through my mind as that thought sinks in. Dammit! I sprint for the door and slam it shut behind me, my breath comes in quick pants as my cheeks heat up and I focus on not doing the same to the general area. I'm absolutely flooded with mortification at what could have happened.

Once I calm down a bit, I pick myself up from where I had slumped against the door. I don't really have anywhere to go and I'm still weak from being sealed for so damn long. It certainly doesn't help that some of the seals drained my power from me. Staying in the temple is a definite no, they're in charge of keeping me sealed and convincing them not to reseal me is just a mess I'm in no condition to properly deal with. I need shelter from the rain and the only other one I can think of is my old prison. Guess I don't have a choice.

I hop off the veranda and head back the way I came. Soon enough I'm back at that clearing. As I look upon it, I can actually appreciate the flowers she's gown around it. I also notice the disarray of the talismans, tags, and ropes from the crash that freed me. I move forward and carefully arrange them back to the way they were, then step back to admire my handiwork. I gotta admit, I got lucky, the crack in the box is positioned right behind one of the larger tags, so unless someone is doing a thorough check of the seals here, they won't notice I'm free. Satisfied that the patch job will fool the casual observer, I turn back to flame and tuck myself away into the box to rest and regain my strength.

I'll protect her and rain fire down upon any moron who would try to hurt her. I'm a monster, but I've promised myself to be her monster.

* * *

Geez, that stupid kid almost gave me a heart attack. I knew he'd been sealed, but I can't believe I forgot where, I must be losing my touch. I suppose I should put in some training hours sometime soon.

He took down the lycanthrope, which is good, and kindly took the girl back to her room without a scratch on her, which is better. It's good to see that his imprisonment has at least gotten him to cool down a little. I know we've talked about breaking him out before, but that temper has always been the debated factor as to whether or not that's a good idea.

Guess I'm done here, time to head home, get dried off, and curl up and enjoy some nice milk. I'll have to tell _him_ that the kid's out, we'll probably have to help him get settled into the world and readjusted to all the changes that have occurred while he's been out. On the bright side, I'm sure he'll be just as fun to tease as he used to be and he's always been a good sparring doll.

I'll drop by tomorrow to observe them both, make sure they're okay.

And with that decision made, I padded off into the night, headed for home.

* * *

**Please review/comment and tell me how I did.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note**

Here's chapter 6. It's got important stuff here.

* * *

I slowly wake to the sounds of birds chirping outside. They're being damn noisy today since I can hear them so well. The scent of wet grass and vegetation clouds my senses.

Wait, scent? The stupid prison box is completely sealed, why can I smell the outdoors? My consciousness fully flares to life and I remember last night. I'm _free_. My prison was broken, it's just an empty shrine now, well, except for me sleeping in it, but that's besides the point. I'm not stuck in an eternal darkness with no way out, I'm _free_.

With those happy thoughts in mind, I slip outside and take on my preferred form, my human form. I climb to the top of the shrine and sit on the roof. Letting out a content sigh and I take in a big breath of fresh air. It's simply fantastic to be out of the damn box.

I look around to see what the clearing looks like now that the sunrise is giving me proper light to see with. It's beautiful. The dewdrops glisten in the morning light on the slender stalks of the rainbow of flowers she's grown here. Damn, now I sound like some sort of cheesy poet. But they really are a sight to behold. I hope she gets to see something like this in the main gardens she's told me about.

As I continue to drink in all the sights I've been missing out on for so long, my attention is drawn to the marker before the shrine. "I'm surprised to see you here," I casually comment, "Yoruichi."

"Hmph. I come all the way out here to see you and you can't even give me a proper greeting." the black cat seated upon the marker sniffs at me.

"Sorry. _Good morning_, Yoruichi." I sarcastically reply. "Satisfied?"

"Not really, but I suppose that's the best I'll get out of you, Ichigo." she jabs back at me.

"And I don't even get a hello back. So what are you doing out here anyways?" I inquire.

"I already told you, I'm here to see you." she says pointedly, like I'm stupid or something.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." I crabbily reply. "So let me try again, _why_ are you here to see me?"

"Mostly to make sure you stay out of trouble. Good job on that by the way, I expected you to go running off with a barely existent plan to continue what you were doing before." she nonchalantly comments.

"As much as I'd like to, I'm not stupid." She gives me a pointed look that says she believes otherwise. "Ok, fine. I'm not _completely _stupid." I gruffly concede, scowling all the while. "I've listened to her talk about her daily life and I have no freaking idea what about half the things she talks about are. I may not do much planning," another glare, "ok, almost no planning, but I usually have an idea of what I'm going up against. At this point, whatever changes have occurred during my sealing could get me totally screwed over, which I don't particularly feel like going through."

"Nice to know you _do_ have a brain, Ichigo." My scowl deepens at that comment. Just because I don't plan ahead doesn't mean I'm brainless, I just don't see the point in fancy planning when "charge in and beat so and so" is a workable plan with barely anything to go wrong with it. "By the way, who is _she_?"

The question snaps me off from the questioning on the effectiveness of plans. "_She_ is the girl who's been visiting me for the past three months and planted all the flowers around here."

"You mean the girl you saved last night?"

"Yeah. You know, I'm glad I got out in time to save her, I'm not sure what I would've done if I hadn't. …Wait, how did you know about that?" I turn a suspicious glare her way.

She calmly flicks her tail. "Geez, you still suck at sensing reiatsu, don't you?" "Hey!" "I was there last night. Hell, I was going to take care of that lycanthrope until you got involved."

"Then why didn't you? I know if you were there, you must have been there before they got to me."

Yoruichi let out a long suffering sigh, "Because I can't get caught by the guards here," I snort at that. No one catches Yoruichi unless she lets them, she's damn fast, enough said, "and letting here see me could have very well led to them searching for me and possibly finding things they don't need to know about."

"So he's in the area then?"

"Of course, this town is the Juureichi, so things are going to happen here. Besides, you know him, he likes to have a nice sideline seat in the middle of things until he's ready to act. Anyways, back to the topic of that girl. I noticed you left a small mark on her."

"It's not a mark!" I reply defensively. "I just tagged her hairpins so I can make sure if trouble decides to go after her again that I can help. I owe her a lot for what she's done." I look away at the last sentence, I don't need her commenting on the small amount of guilt I feel at what's already happened.

"And did it occur to you that the tag may attract trouble?"

I growl at that question. "If she gets trouble for the tag, then they were asking for it."

She sighs once again. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." With that she lithely jumps from the marker and starts to walk away.

"Oh, and Ichigo?"

"What?" I snap back, I'd really like to get back to _appreciating_ the fact that I'm free of the hellish prison box.

She paused and looked back at me, "Try not to lose this one, ne?"

"Of course. What'd ya think I was gonna' do?" I grumble back.

She seemed satisfied with that answer because she turned back and with a flick of her tail was on her way once more.

As she left she called back over her shoulder, "And Ichigo, nice cosplay!" I could hear her sniggers as she took off to leave me fuming and trying to come up with a suitable comeback.

"What the hell is a cosplay?!You know what, who cares anyways? It's not like it matters." I grumble to myself.

I lean back on the shrine and think about what I've learned from Yoruichi. Well, actually she didn't leave me with much. They're in town, _she_ doesn't know about us, I'm going to get dragged into whatever's happening, possibly, no, probably, _her_ too, and I should lay low for a while.

I guess I'll just have to deal with troubles as they come, nothing too different from how it used to be. And laying low shouldn't be too hard, I'm still fairly drained, so I'll just stay here and rest. With my course of action decided, I retreat back inside to sleep some more.

* * *

"So how was our little friend, Yoruichi-san?"

"Fine, he seems to have cooled down rather nicely. I'd attribute most of his current level headedness on that girl's tender attentions." she comments as she settles onto the pillow I've placed in the sunlight coming in through one of the windows, just for her.

"Good, good. I was a little worried considering how much trouble he can cause, even at less than half strength. Though I'm surprised he got himself a girlfriend while he was sealed." I snigger at that one, I really am too clever. Yoruichi laughs at that one too.

"You're going to have to tell him that when you see him next, he'll turn so red!" she excitedly proclaims.

"I was already planning to, my dear Yoruichi-san. You'll have to bring him here in the next couple of days so I can explain his situation to him and start getting him up to date."

"That's probably a good idea. He was wearing that old coat of his and hakama, I almost laughed when I first saw him sitting there in it. I told him it was a nice cosplay. He probably doesn't even know what that is." she laughs to herself. I can't help but laugh too. Thinking about it draws the image of him to my head and she's right, if anyone saw that today, they'd think he was in cosplay.

"Of course it's a good idea! I am a genius after all. Anyways~, I have other things to attend to, so I'll leave you to your catnap, Yoruichi-san." I say as I get up and leave the room. She nods her head before curling up on the pillow and drifting off.

It changes things to have him back. His power and unrealized potential make him an incredible asset. I thought we'd lost him when they broke him. There didn't seem to be anything we could do to get him to recover from those blows and protecting him from sealing was really just putting others and him in danger. It wasn't an easy choice, but it had to be made. But now he's back.

I laugh quietly to myself. We didn't know how to fix him, but this girl, who knew _nothing_, fixed him without even knowing it. I'll keep an eye on her, for her sake, his sake, and ours, because if they break him again I know they'll wait until he's so strong that it'll be near impossible to deal with him before acting. He always said he was a monster when he was just beginning to break, but he really doesn't know the full truth of those words.

I feel a moment of guilt, thinking of this shadow game that he's going to be dragged back into, that she will likely be dragged into, but I have very little choice.

Tugging my hat down a little further, I go out to tend my shop and gather the information necessary to get us through the coming storm.

* * *

**Please leave a comment/review a to tell me how I did.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note**

Right, chapter 7. The only thing I feel the need to say right now is a self-promotion. Please check out my one shot that will reveal a truth you never knew about Aizen.

Now enjoy the chapter.

* * *

I shot up into a sitting position upon waking, ready to face down whatever scary monster had rescued me or was after me. Confusion was the only thing I faced as I found myself in my room.

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" I mused aloud, letting a pondering expression settle on my face. It had all felt so real, there was no way it was just a dream, but I was in my room and the door I had left open was closed. I searched my memories for some other evidence. It was raining and I ran around without shoes and fell to the ground, so I must have dirt and damp spots on my clothes! Feeling I'd find my proof, I pulled back the blankets and found … nothing, I was clean and dry. Aha! I took my umbrella outside and dropped it, so there was no way it could be in my room. I sprung out of my bed to check and … found the umbrella leaning against the dresser, though it did take a little while to find it. Guess I didn't remember correctly where I left it.

Sitting back down on my futon, I scratched my head and racked my brain for any other evidence that could prove that the horrifying, yet undeniably magical events of last night, were real. As scary as it was, I really hoped it wasn't a dream. I mean, it was magic, scary werewolf and demon thing magic, but magic none the less. And if there were scary magical things, who's to say there weren't nice magical things. In fact, now that I was thinking about it, the demon thing saved me and even asked me if I was alright. Maybe he was one of the nice magical things and just looked scary, like that pig-faced, yakuza looking man who was a nursery school teacher and lived in the same apartment building as me.

"Hurry up, Orihime! We're going to be late for school!"

I eeped at the sudden interruption to my thoughts and looked over to Rukia who had slammed my door open and come in.

"Oh, you're awake. Good, now get moving or we really will be late." she brusquely told me.

"Hai!" was my quick response with a smile and she gave me a small smile back before shutting the door behind her.

I got up and gathered my things then darted to the bathroom so I could get ready. Momo had made breakfast to go, but it was kind of strange, everyone had slept in, so we were all running late. With hurried goodbyes to Renji and Rangiku, we left for school and made it in just before the bell.

I was sitting bored in my history class, daydreaming about gnomes and sprites, nekomata and kirin, and all sorts of yokai and fairy tale creatures. I couldn't help myself, not after last night's events, or was it a dream? I frowned, it couldn't have been a dream. It was too real, even if it was in the realms of my wild imagination to have such a dream. I still had no proof though, I had even made a quick check outside for the sledge hammer the werewolf had carried, it wasn't there. I let out a small frustrated groan, I knew it was real! Why couldn't I find my proof?! Then I remembered, there was still one thing left to check. Guardian-kun's shrine. The werewolf had crashed into it! If the shrine was damaged then I'd have my proof!

After coming to this realization, I couldn't wait for school to end so I could check the shrine. I shot out of my seat the moment the bell rang and made a beeline for the door, until I bumped into someone.

"Sorry, sorry." I exclaimed. Oh, how clumsy of me! I was too busy trying to get away that I didn't realize I was on a collision course with someone.

"It's alright, Inoue-san. However, if you don't mind me asking, why are you in such a hurry? You know we have a handicrafts club meeting today, right?" the bespectacled boy gently asks me.

"Oh, I totally forgot. And, um, th-there-there was just something I wanted to check!" I stutter out. "Yeah, and, um, I was just worried about it, not that you need to worry about it, Ishida-kun!" I quickly reassure him, waving my hands quickly before my face.

"Um, right." comes his hesitant answer. "Let's get going then." He turns to take the lead to the room we hold the handicrafts club meetings in. I hesitate for a moment before I give in and follow him. The shrine isn't going anywhere, right?

The handicrafts club couldn't seem to pass by fast enough, but it eventually ended. I was one of the first to leave the room once the meeting was over, which was odd for me because I usually stay to help clean up, but I was so tired of waiting and really wanted to check Guardian-kun's shrine.

I got back to the temple quickly, but was then dragged into work seeing as I needed to tend to the garden the bunnies had wrecked yesterday and set precautions against further damages in the other gardens. I grumbled a bit to myself about being delayed yet again from checking for that last piece of evidence.

I finally finished my work with a little bit of time before dinner and was able to slip away to that old, barely there path. I couldn't help myself and practically flew down it. I skidded to a stop in the clearing and looked at the shrine. It looked exactly like it normally does. I sat down with a thump feeling fairly disappointed, the magic wasn't real, it had just been a dream.

When a warm breeze flowed around me, seemingly laced with concern, I looked up from my moping. "Sorry, Guardian-kun. It's nice to see you. I'm just feeling a little down today because I had this really realistic dream. There was a werewolf and this scary looking monster in it! But don't worry the monster was friendly, I think. And I really wanted it to be real because then magic would be real, and maybe you would be too." I finished the last sentence softly. I don't want him to think poorly of me, but in moments like this it's easy to question if he really did exist or if I was just talking to an inanimate object.

A gentle warmth wrapped around me like a blanket, as if to assure me that he was real. I'd never felt the presence I associated with Guardian-kun so strongly. I felt so safe and cared for, like nothing could go wrong here. "Thank you, Guardian-kun." I softly whisper and I can practically feel a hum of reply from him.

I pick myself up from the ground and head back for dinner. His warmth doesn't leave me until I'm halfway down the path and I truly appreciate the gesture. I may not have the solid proof I was looking for of the existence of the magical, but I have the conviction that it's there because Guardian-kun has shown me he's real, even if I never seen him.

* * *

I was so tempted to reveal myself to her when she told me why she was sad. I can't stand to sense her sorrow, it's even worse now that I can see it for myself. But I can't reveal myself, not yet, not when I still know she's safer being left in the dark. There are rules to play by in this stupid, hellish game that I was once a part of, a game I doubt I can escape while still alive, and one of them is to keep from dragging innocent, unknowing people into this world of magic and nightmares. As long as she doesn't know she'll be safe, I hope. The doubts are there though, because the opponents that I once fought against were ruthless and cruel. My belief that that rule would be followed was shattered before, because some bastards decided that breaking me was worth breaking them.

Besides the game, I can't reveal myself to her because the temple guards would definitely come to seal my ass if they found out I was free, screw the fact that I don't currently intend to continue the rampage that got me sealed in the first place. I doubt she'd snitch on me, but considering how open she is with me, I get the feeling she'd accidentally let it slip, try and pass it off as one of her fantasies, and they'd come check anyways because she reminded them that they ought to check up on me. And seriously, that'd be just my damn luck.

Now that she's made her visit though I can confidently leave the shrine box and train a bit to get used to actually being able to do stuff again. So I get to work because it's only a matter of time before trouble comes for me, and probably her too.

* * *

I noticed it, but that's to be expected of one with my skills. Okay, in all honesty, the only reason I noticed was because I was looking for it, but still, one with less skill than I would likely have still over looked such a faint and subtle mark as this, even when looking.

I suppose the only reason I looked is that she was acting oddly today and considering where she works, I could come up with some dangerous reasons for her rushed behavior. Most wouldn't have bothered, but it's my sworn duty to protect humans from the living nightmares that so few believe in anymore, and it is a duty I carry out with great pride. Of course, it's also hard to not feel protective of one as kind and innocent as her, so I may be willing to do a bit more than usual for her.

I reach out my senses to try and locate the beast that would dare to target this innocent girl. It barely takes me any time at all and comes from the exact area I expected. Her hunter is near the Daitaiyo temple. It will be tricky to deal with the creature without getting caught by the temple guards, but considering that it's barely on the temple grounds and the incompetent fools seem to have not noticed it, I believe I'm perfectly within my rights to go after it. I'll be cautious, give them a chance to deal with it, but I won't wait until it's too late.

On my honor as a Quincy, I won't let this beastly yokai hurt her.

* * *

**Secondary Note**

For those wondering, Orihime's not dirty because the rain washed her off, at least that's what I'm saying. The umbrella and sledge hammer were picked up by Yoruichi because she knows the value of secrecy. And if you want to know about the man Orihime mentions, look at the omakes in volume 50. I think that covers everything, if anything is confusing you, drop a line and I'll try to clear it up.

**Please leave a comment/review and tell me how I did.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**

Nothing much to say here. So enjoy!

* * *

I've been free for a week and I've been getting my bearings on modern times. It's a damn slow process, but I suppose that's to be expected considering I've been out of it for a little over a hundred years apparently.

Yoruichi's been taking me out during the day to observe people on the streets and get me used to modern culture. I now get her cosplay reference, which was definitely uncalled for, it's not my fault that clothing has changed so much over the years. It's really rather amazing how much everything's changed. All the roads and pathways are paved, the buildings pierce high into the sky with the majority of them being made of stone and glass, and the most strange to me are all the lights, signs, and these _cars_. They are self-drawn carriages that growl and rumble and are made of steel. Yoruichi says they can go faster than any horse and are very common place.

I was also given a cellphone, which I also don't understand much. If you want to talk to someone, you should do it to their face in my opinion. But I suppose it has its uses. This texting thing is much quicker than having someone carry a letter and there's no chance of someone else intercepting it. The cellphone I've been given also has a nifty little censor in it that warns me when a hollow is coming and I've used that a few times.

I'm going to visit that stupid Geta-boshi today. He's always been good about having secret training grounds and I need somewhere to really stretch my powers and test some higher level skills in.

Yoruichi leads the way to a small shop tucked out of the way in a pleasant but slightly rundown neighborhood. I'm almost relieved to see the shop because it's almost exactly like I remember it from all that time ago. So much has changed that it's damn nice to have something unchanged. I slide the door open to see the same layout that I remember, but most of the items on the shelves are unfamiliar. Sitting in the back at the counter is the Geta-boshi, stupid hat on his head and fan lazily held in hand while a stupid, cheery grin occupies his face, hiding the master strategist and genius beneath it all.

"Yo, Geta-boshi, been a while." I lazily wave at him, the barest of grins tugging at my lips because as annoying as he is, I have kinda missed the damn bastard.

His grin widens, "Good morning, Kurosaki-san. It has indeed been a while." He jovially greets back. "And what my I do for you on this fine morning?"

"I was hoping you still had a thing for secret training rooms because I could use some space to practice." I calmly reply.

"Ah. I do happen to have a nice basement training ground. Do you need a sparring partner with that?" he cheekily grins at me as he asks the question.

I roll my shoulders a bit in anticipation. "If you're offering. I could use a good spar."

He snaps his fan shut and rises to his feet. "Then a right this way, my good sir!" He merrily exclaims. He walks over to a floor panel and pulls it up to reveal its existence as a trap door with a ladder in it leading down. "After you." he says, gesturing down to the ladder. I go over and start my decent.

As usual, the training ground is large, spacious, and resembles a barren wasteland. I take in a deep breath to relax my muscles just a bit from the tense anticipation that has set in from being in such a familiar setting. I suddenly jerk to the side as Geta-boshi's sword swings down on the spot I stood in. A feral grin spreads across my face as I feel the burning flame that ignites in my blood as I turn to him and begin our sparring match.

* * *

My patience is at its end. It's been a week and those incompetent fools have not noticed that beast running loose and using their temple as a home base. I told myself to give them time to notice its growing presence, but they have turned a blind eye to it or are so inept that they don't even realize it's there.

The only good thing is that it doesn't seem to have made any further moves upon Inoue-san. This may also be why those fools haven't noticed yet. She was back to normal the next day, so they likely just brushed off her behavior, the idiots.

It still boils my blood a bit that they would even consider having a normal human work at a temple with a rather large collection of sealed on its grounds. Don't they care at all for her safety? Or do they think that she'll be just fine and not get touched when something big comes knocking on the gates? Either way they are still reckless morons.

Tonight I'll go and confront the yokai, force it to leave Inoue-san alone or kill it if necessary. I'll have to do it close to midnight so that the guards will hopefully be a bit more lax and those off duty will be sound asleep. If I skirt the edges I should be able to stay off the temple property and thus have a loophole if caught. I suppose I'll tell them what I'm doing if I do get caught, but I'd rather not have such imbeciles for help, they'll likely only drag me down.

With those plans firmly in mind, I set my alarm clock for a half hour before midnight, a suitable amount of time to adorn my traditional uniform and properly wake up. I have heard several gruesome and embarrassing tales of men who have gone into battle half asleep.

I wake to the sound of my alarm and quickly set about my preparations. Soon I'm out the door and flying across the town rooftops towards the temple. I quickly skirt the edges until I hit the backside and find a faint trail that can barely be seen in the moonlight. The clearing I come to is filled with flowers. In the center, a marker that sits before the shrine is worn and I can't read anything off of it in the moonlight. The shrine has the signs of many seals, but I can sense that not a single one of them is active. What I do sense is a rather powerful, more so than I expected, presence centered in the shrine. It's calm, but there's a certain undercurrent to it, like it could burst to life and burn me at any moment.

I bring my bow into being and knock an arrow on it. It's best to be cautious since I'm not entirely sure what I'm dealing with. I take a deep breath to settle my nerves, it's the first time I've done something like this alone, the first time I've confronted something that isn't obviously a mindless beast since sensei died.

"Reveal yourself, yokai!" I shout out, loud and clear. "As a member of the Ishida bloodline of the Quincy and keeper of the peace of Karakura, I demand you come out!"

A flame trickles out of the shrine and begins to pool before it. As its size increases, it gains height and begins to condense into a humanoid shape. As the flames die down they reveal a man who appears to be about my age in sweats and a white t-shirt. His hair is a spikey mess and he stands just a little bit taller than me. He lets lose a large yawn and stretches his hands above his head, showing off a lean but well-muscled physique. He turns, bleary eyed to look at me.

"What the hell do you want that can't wait until a _decent_ hour? It's been a long day and I'd like to sleep." he irritably growls at me. I affronted by his rude manner and have to wonder how he can still be half asleep with an arrow aimed at his heart. He is either the most confident or the stupidest yokai I've ever met, I'm hoping a bit more for the latter, it'll make this job easier.

"I want you to leave Inoue-san alone." I say with as much command as I can. I can't allow myself to look weak just because the thing's barely awake.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" it has the nerve to question.

"The girl you marked, moron! Or did you just select a random victim?" I hiss back at this _thing_.

"What the hell?! One: I don't hunt humans and Two: It's not a god damn mark, it's a tag." comes the vehement reply. It seems the shock has woken him up and now he's glaring at me as if _I_ have done something wrong.

"If that's true, then how come you don't know her name? And what the hell is a tag?"

"A tag is a lesser version of a mark. It's completely removable by anyone who knows the trick and can be placed on inanimate objects." he lectures, making it clear that he finds his answer obvious and that he believes I'm stupid for not knowing. "And I never got the chance to ask her name." he grumbles back. I can feel a twitch in my eye. "She fainted pretty quickly after we first met face to face and I wasn't gonna drag her into this shit if I could avoid it."

"Yet you marked –, excuse me, _tagged_ her anyways." I point out. I'm not buying this story for a second.

"What the hell did you expect me to do? She came in here chased by a lycanthrope about a week ago. Are you saying I shouldn't have set up a safety measure to help her if she got into trouble like that again?" he heatedly replies. I'm starting to get fed up with his attitude. And I still doubt his story.

"And you expect me to believe that a sealed yokai would just play nice with a human girl after being freed? I think you're just trying to worm your way out of getting destroyed."

He has the gall to snort at me as a small, smug grin appears on his face. "You wouldn't stand a chance in hell against me, four-eyes, but you're welcome to try." he taunts. I can feel a vein throb in my head at the insult and he's lucky I don't just fire the arrow at him right here and now.

"I see. Then you can't complain when I kick your ass." I jab back. The feral grin that splits his face unnerves me slightly, but I blame that on the rising bloodlust I can feel from him rather than any fear of the yokai himself. A self-preservation instinct in the face of threatening deadly force.

"Fine with me." His face then goes back to a scowl, but it's more relaxed as he says, "But we can't fight here."

"What?" I can feel my jaw drop a bit at this request. He was all ready to go then he just decides out of nowhere that this isn't a good place to fight. I don't get it.

"You heard me. We can't fight here." He says as a stubborn look takes his face and he crosses his arms to complete the look. "She's worked to damn hard growing this garden and I'm not gonna see it wrecked because I had to fight some prick in the middle of the night."

I growl at his way of addressing me. "And you think I'm going to let you pick a new venue where you can have the advantage?" I mutinously ask.

"Tch, you can pick for all I care. Just not here or at the temple, she works in those gardens too. In fact why don't you pick a different time while you're at. It's damn late and I still want to just go back to sleep."

"And give you a chance to gather your friends to team up on me, unlikely."

"You could get friends in that time too, ya know." He replies in a patronizing voice. "But if it seriously worries you that much, just come back later with a different venue and I'll go fight you there. At least, as long as it's not at some god forsaken time in the middle of the night again."

I consider the proposition. It is awfully late and while I'm willing to sacrifice my attendance for the safety of Inoue-san, if I don't have to… No! I can't think like that! To put it off would give this monster a chance to run off with her or have his way with her. But… sleep and perfect attendance…

"I accept your offer, but if you run away or try anything between now and then, I'll hunt you down and kill you." I threaten.

"Fine. Now get out of here, bastard." he says with a yawn, before turning back to flames and retreating to the inside of the shrine. I glare at the shrine before turning on heel and stalking away, trying to come up with a good place to fight him. We will have that fight, I'll hold him to that, and I'll be the winner.

* * *

"Have you finished checking the seals?"

"Not yet, Taicho." I reply. We would have finished already if _someone_ hadn't made us start all over again five nights in. As much as I want to say that, I don't because I value my life and the pain wouldn't be worth it. I respect my taicho, I really do, but sometimes I wish he wasn't so by the book. I might have let slip that no work got done on the second night because we were all asleep, but does that really mean we have to recheck all the seals that we checked after that night too? According to Taicho, yes, _everything_ must be rechecked, even if we originally checked it after the odd night.

"How much is left?"

"Just a couple more on the grounds and then one outlier seal, sir." This process would also be faster if we weren't forced to do the thorough, full checks instead of the usual once-overs. It doesn't help that it seems to be that time again when most of the seals need renewals and strengthening. But we're almost done, so thank God for small mercies like that.

"Very well, report back when you are finished."

"Hai, Kuchiki-taicho." Then the call ends. I let out a sigh of relief. It's always hard to talk to him. Even if he's not in the room, I still get the feeling that he's staring me down, calculating my value and finding me to be less than what he asked for. I shake off those thoughts, I've still got work to do tonight and even more to do tomorrow. Tucking my cellphone in my pants pocket, I stroll out into the night and get to work.

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**Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did and try my one-shot.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note**

In response to midsummer's review, yes there is a difference between yokai and hollows in this fic, as you'll see a bit in this chapter. It will be fully explained in a later chapter. Also, what's this Tactics that my summary reminds you of?

Anywho, here's chapter 9. Enjoy.

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I don't know why that stupid red pineapple had to assign _me _to check the outlier seal. The baboon should do it himself! He's the one with the highest ranking here. Momo and Rangiku may be of equal rank, but it's not _their _jurisdiction. Just because he can pull rank on me doesn't mean he should! It doesn't matter if _"You're next in line to own this temple so shouldn't you get to check all the big time seals?" _I don't care if I'm next in line, I don't want to do this!

Besides, this one's supposed to be pretty nasty, if I remember the temple lore correctly, and he's sending me to deal with it all alone. I have half a mind to report him to Nii-sama, but that feels like the coward's way out and I'm no coward.

Still, that worry from what I remember of the old reports that I read when I was bored out of my mind one day still swirl in my head. A monster on the brink between yokai and hollow who was only brought down because they found a chink in the armor of its capabilities and were able to capitalize on it before the creature became aware of this weakness. Supposedly, it was an elemental who was able to overcome most of its element's weaknesses as it fought score upon score of opponents. The thought of something that was able to overcome the basic rules that are taught so early in the shinigami curriculum sends a chill down my spine and I wrap my hand around the hilt of my zanpakuto. The chill that runs up my arm is refreshing and reassuring, a small admonishment for doubting my own, as well as Sode no Shirayuki's, capabilities. We are not defenseless. Besides, this seal has hardly needed any maintenance in all the time it's been here. It will be a quick job, just look it over, then report back that all is well.

Reassured and confidence restored, I hold my head high as I trail down the poorly maintained path off one of the back gardens. The dappled sunlight that sifts through the leafy canopy above me makes the trail hard to follow and I have to back track a couple of times because I've accidentally left the path. I curse Renji every time this happens for sending me to do this.

After a while, I hear the soft murmur of a voice up ahead. That can't be good. This is supposed to be a complete seal, no contact can be made by the yokai sealed within, and Renji was only sending me. I silently withdraw Sode no Shirayuki from her sheath before advancing forward once more, footsteps cautious and light. I stretch out my senses, trying to get a read of what opponent lies ahead. I can't sense anything that can tell me of who or what is up there, I can only sense the presence I was taught is the yokai sealed here.

I strain my ears to hear what is being said, to try and figure out what this person is up to in their attempts to free the monster ahead of me. The murmurs slowly turn to words "… and Tatsuki-chan will be back by tomorrow evening. I'm so happy she'll be back, I've really missed her. Ooh, we've also caught some of the bunnies and put them in the pen that Abarai-kun built! They're so cute with how they wiggle their noses. Me and Rukia have even named them! The white one is Chappy, the brown one is Mori, and the black one is Kage." The voice chatters on and I pale. I know that voice. I hear it every day, we all do, and we never suspected a thing.

She always acted so innocent, so naive, so ditzy, so kind. How could we have suspected that the simple human girl would be looking to free the monsters caged here when she shouldn't know of their existence? How could we have guessed that she was an agent of chaos and destruction when she pretended to abhor those things? She had tricked us with a sunshine smile and gentle hands and we fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. We trusted her and she was just waiting for the right time to stab us in the back.

I feel an icy rage take hold of me. I will not allow her deception to go any further. My grip tightens round Sode no Shirayuki as I draw her chill around me. It will do me no good if I give myself away, she could break the seals before I get there if I'm not careful. I pick up my speed, but remain silent.

I feel a small drop of heat roll down my face and I pause for moment. I reach up a hand and wipe at my face, only to come back with a teardrop that is quickly crystalizing into ice on my hand. I'm crying. Why am I crying? There's an enemy to defeat, I have no time for tears! At least, that's what I tell myself, but the truth is what she's doing is breaking my heart, and I want to know why. Why is she doing this? Weren't we friends? Nakama? Why would she be willing to so easily betray that trust that we, that I, gave her? Why act so kind when it was all a lie? Why act like she cared? I want to know why my _friend_ would do this to us, to me. This pain in my heart, what do I do with it? The sting of betrayal chills me, but somewhere in my heart there's still the hope that she hasn't turned against us, even if it is as futile a hope as my mind tells me it is.

I prowl to the edge of the clearing and lay eyes upon her. Inoue Orihime sits in the middle of a clearing surrounded by flowers, obviously cared for in the same way as the gardens she was hired to tend. Before her is the sealing structure and a marker that her wallet rests against, open and showing the picture of her brother. I swallow as tears threaten my eyes once more. She still looks _innocent_ and I'm tempted to turn and run back, make someone else deal with this betrayal. But I can't do that, it'll give her a chance to free the monster and hurt people. Steeling myself for what must be done, for hurting my friend, for protecting the others, I step forward.

_Crack_

Dammit! I stepped on a twig hidden by the grass and now my presence has been given away!

I watch her start and turn towards me. The fear that was in her eyes dissipates as soon as she sees me and a nervous grin takes her face. "Ohayou, Rukia-chan!" she nervously trills. "I didn't expect to see you out here. I was just talking with Onii-chan and Guardian-kun." She says while rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed manner. I can only stare because she's acting the same as she always does, no condescending speech about how I should have realized her true purpose there, no sneering look, no anxious movements to cover herself. She is just as open as she has always been and I can feel my heart crack a little more as she pretends that there is nothing wrong, that she hasn't betrayed us.

"Rukia-chan, are you alright?" she asks as she rises from her seat with worry laced in her tone and eyes.

I step back. She can't do this to me! She can't act concerned about my wellbeing when I've caught her in the act! I want to scream and yell at her to stop. If she's going to betray us, act like it! Don't continue to play innocent and nice, be the villain you're hiding under the surface. I want to scream all this and more at her, break the sweet and innocent façade, but I'm frozen, I can't move.

"Rukia-chan, what's wrong, why do you have a sword?" the worry in her voice has increased and she takes a step forward, reaching out towards me. This action of attempted comfort breaks the spell over me and my limbs move once more.

"Stay back!" I demand, moving my zanpakuto between us and into a defensive stance. "Don't' come any closer!" I am pleased that my voice has only the slightest of tremors in it, though I wish it had none.

The sadness and hurt that flashes into her eyes almost breaks my resolve. It's a trained instinct to comfort her when she's sad, but I must resist it.

"I'm sorry, Rukia-chan." The shimmering eyes with barely suppressed tears and heartfelt words give me pause. I can feel the hope returning stronger, maybe she was forced into doing this and didn't want to betray us. Maybe she's not the enemy. "I don't know what I did to make you so upset, but I' sorry." The hope shatters on the ground and I grit my teeth preparing to end this charade because I can't take any more of this. "Please just tell me what's wrong! I want to help you, Rukia-chan, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong! I'm sorry!" she sobs, but I've hardened my heart to her pleas and tense myself to strike.

As I start to move forward, an overwhelming, scorching heat swamps the clearing and I pull back as a gout of black flame rises where I would have stood. When it cleared, a man stood between myself and Orihime. He was as tall as Nii-sama and stood straight and proud. He wore a black overcoat that fit closely to his lean figure with ragged ends and black hakama tied with a white obi. He glared at me with brown eyes through spikey orange hair.

I took an involuntary step back as his glare dug into me. I had miscalculated. The monstrous yokai was already free and she was just visiting it and using the old sealing structure as a kennel for it. I took another step back as the records swirled through my thoughts again. I'm not qualified to take on this beast alone! My grip tightens once more on Sode no Shirayuki's hilt as I call more of her chill into myself in an attempt to not be overwhelmed by the heat generated by him. As the cold seeps into me, I feel my senses sharpen and my head clear a bit. I may not be able to defeat this monster, but I can at least buy time and hopefully my raised reiatsu will alert the others that something isn't right

I take a stance once more before charging forward again. His eyes narrow as he flicks his hand at me, black flames rolling off it. I dodge to the side and bring down an overhead swipe that he easily sways away from, snapping out a round kick towards my side causing me to jump back once more. I glare at him, refusing to be intimidated by the casual ease with which he handles me. He'll pay for underestimating me.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" I cry out, turning the blade in my hands as its true form is released. I quickly jab the blade into the ground four times in a semi-circle before me before pointing the blade at him. "Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" I bark the command as a sheet of ice shoots forth from my zanpakuto. I quickly turn to run and warn the others of what's happened when the heat increases by several magnitudes. Turning back I see the ice I've created quickly steams and cracks, revealing the yokai standing there wreathed in those accursed black flames, anger clear on his face.

He stalks forward, growling and I can barely move as the heat is impossibly still climbing. Black begins dancing at the edges of my vision and I feel light headed. He raises a hand and brings it forward in a flaming backhand strike that I barely get my blade up in time to block. The force of the blow sends me stumbling backwards, knocking my blade from my grip, and I fall onto my behind. The heat is stifling as he comes further forward to tower over me. The burning contempt and anger towards me in his eyes sends shivers down my spine and I flinch back from it. He pulls back his hand and forms it to a point before wreathing it in flames once more. I realize now that I will likely die here and so I welcome the blackness that has been calling me from the edges of my vision. I don't want to see my death nor know the pain of it. As the darkness encroaches, I hear it.

"_NO! Stop this, Guardian-kun!"_

And then the darkness takes me and I know no more.

* * *

I was surprised when the shinigami girl came into the clearing while Inoue was visiting. It's actually kinda nice to have a name to call her by, even if I did learn it from that prick who has no clue what decent visiting hours are. Anyways, I was willing to let it go when she came in on us, but when she tried to attack Inoue I wasn't going to sit by and let it happen. I placed a strong flame in the way before placing myself in the way. I have nothing against the shinigami girl, who is also a midget –seriously, why did they accept such a shorty? –but I'm not going to just let her attack Inoue. So I take it easy on her in hopes that she'll give up and run for help, not that help is good for me, but it should give Inoue a chance to get away from a serious fight.

Then she makes a mistake. The midget releases her zanpakuto and unleashes an area attack aimed at me _with Inoue still behind me_. My rage boils and burns at the thought of what would have happened if I had dodged that attack. She must be aware of Inoue's position considering the first attack was aimed for her and I have barely moved from my spot in front of her. That only leaves the conclusion that she's _trying_ to hurt Inoue too. The fires of my anger burn and I can barely contain it, I know my control is slipping, but I don't care. Inoue will be safe as soon as I take out this ice queen midget.

With a growl, I stalk forward and backhand her. She blocks but at the cost of losing her balance and grip on her zanpakuto. It displeases me that she's not downed yet. I move forward once more, cocking my arm back and coating my pointed hand in flames. As I move to jab forward and end the miserable little wretch, delicate hands wrap around my upper arm and pull back.

_"NO! Stop this, Guardian-kun!" _

And I obey because I can't deny her.

* * *

I hope I did a good job catching the turmoil Rukia would feel at an assumed betrayal by Orihime, so let me know what you think.

Also a bit of shameless self-advertising. If you like my way with words, I've just opened my account to offer beta-ing services. Just drop a line if you're interested in having me beta your story. Mine are all self beta'd.

**Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note**

I haven't got any reviews for the last chapter as of posting this.:( I like getting reviews.

Anywho, Chapter 10, enjoy!

* * *

I admit, I was scared when Rukia pointed her sword at me.

I have no clue what I did wrong that made her so upset, but it hurt to see her look at me with such disgust and I just wanted to fix whatever I did wrong. I can't understand why every time I apologized that that disgust seemed to grow. I hate when I feel helpless like this, when I can't do anything to make it all better. Maybe that's why I like gardening. All you need is a little proper care, a gentle touch of kindness, and a wasteland can be brought into bloom. It always breaks my heart when it doesn't work for people. Why can't acts of kindness fix all our problems?

When she charges at me, I accept that whatever I've done to wrong her must have driven her to this. I probably deserve to be hurt for the torment I've caused her. Maybe once she's made her attack she'll calm down and I can try to sooth her once more.

Then there's heat, and it's so familiar. The gout of black flame startles me, but not as much as the figure that materializes before me, blocking Rukia's path. Tall with broad shoulders, spikey orange hair, and a flowing black coat, I can't see his face, but his presence is unmistakable, it's Guardian-kun.

When he and Rukia begin to fight I'm at a loss of what to do. They're both my dear friends and I don't want either of them to get hurt, but if I jump in, I get the feeling that it will only ensure injury to one or both parties. So I can only watch, and feel a bit relieved that Guardian-kun doesn't seem to have much intention of hurting Rukia.

At least, not until she changes the shape of her sword and fires an ice beam at us! It was really amazing, like some sort of super power or ray gun, except it was her sword! I thought it was pretty neat until I realized that the ice was headed straight for us and we were about to become human popsicles. I don't think I'd make a very good popsicle, I'd always be so cold and my teeth would chatter all the time. Lucky me, I didn't have to worry about becoming a popsicle because Guardian-kun made a flame dome around us and none of the ice got through. The air gets warmer as the dome comes down and the flames gather around Guardian-kun. He growls while moving forwards towards Rukia and back hands her, knocking her down and knocking her sword from her grip.

When he raises his hand to stab her, I grow scared again.

I don't know what it is I think I can achieve, but I run forwards and grab Guardian-kun's arm from behind. I can't just let him hurt Rukia when she's defenseless! I can tell as soon as my hands wrap around his upper arm that I lack the strength necessary to stop him, that I could barely even slow him down, so in my desperation I plead because it's the only thing I can think to do.

"NO! Stop this, Guardian-kun!"

And he goes lax beneath my grip.

The smothering heat that has accumulated since his appearance wears away some as the arm I was so desperately griping onto returns to his side. He stands still, hanging his head, and I begin to wonder if he's alright.

"Why?"

His voice is low and there's a hint of a growl to it. I can also hear confusion and unease in his question. I'm not sure how to respond. Why what? I need a bit more to go on and as I open my mouth to question him he speaks again.

"Why? Why did you save her? She was trying to her hurt you! Don't you get that?!"

He yells the last question as he turns around to look at me and I can't speak. I can't say a word when he's looking at me with those eyes. A molten brown colored by anger and something I can't place. They stare into my own eyes and penetrate deep looking for answers.

"She's my friend. I don't want her to get hurt." I squeak out, diverting my eyes. "I don't think she really wanted to hurt me. She was just hurt and confused, I'm sure."

His eyes tighten at my response and his scowl deepens at my reply.

"And just because she has problems means it's all damn right if she takes 'em out on you?" he growls, displeasure with my reasoning apparent. "Tell me, do you think you'd just survive and have a damn laugh about it later if she ran you through with her damn zanpakuto? Or that no one would give a damn if you didn't survive this encounter?"

He seems to loom over me, impossibly tall, even though he's only about a head taller than me. I don't know how to respond. He's upset and I don't know what to do to sooth his rage, to calm him and let him see everything's alright. Maybe that's what he needs! To be reassured that everything's alright.

"Well, it doesn't matter 'cause everything's alright now! Nobody got hurt and the flowers are happy again. Victory from the power of friendship!" I strike a cool pose as I finish my cheerful speech.

The scowl is gone and he gives me a blank stare.

"The makes no sense at all." he dead pans.

"Yes it does!" I pout back. "Guardian-kun just doesn't understand the magical powers of friendship, flowers, and happiness. But don't worry, I'll teach you all about it!" I finish with a big smile and a giggle.

He stares at me for a moment longer before a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth.

"I'll hold you to that." The scowl returns, "But that still doesn't excuse how you were just going to let that damn midget attack you."

"Well, I'm fine and I'm sure we can talk it out once Rukia-chan wakes up." I pout once more. Why can't he just let it go? "What did you do to her anyways, Guardian-kun?"

He blinks at the question before reaching up and scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"She got overheated." he mumbles.

"Huh?" I tilt my head, "How did that happen?"

"In case you hadn't noticed, I can control fire. Fire comes from heat."

"Oookaaay?" I nod my head, but still don't really get it.

He grumbles something, but I don't quite catch it.

"What?"

He growls a bit before replying, "I said, my control isn't the best when I'm pissed." He looks embarrassed by this confession. Upon seeing my continuing look of confusion he further elaborates, "My lack of control plus fire coming from heat means when I get pissed off things get really hot around me."

"Oooh. I see." A look of understanding dawns on my face. "But if you make things hot, why didn't I feel really hot? I only felt kind of warm."

He blinks once more. "Dunno, maybe I subconsciously focused the heat away from you." he ponders. "Anyways, your midget friend should be alright, it's just gonna take a while for her to come around."

I smile. Rukia's going to be all right and I've calmed down Guardian-kun. Mission Accomplished! I sit down in the grass and check my watch, we've still got about an hour and a half before Rukia and I need to head back for dinner. When I look up, Guardian-kun is just standing there, looking at the flowers. I shift a bit and his attention snaps to me. I smile for him again and pat the grass besides me. He looks a little hesitant, but comes over and sits beside me.

"So, what is Guardian-kun?"

"Huh?"

"What are you? You look human, but I've never seen you before today even though you've been here the whole time. You can control fire and heat. I keep thinking, but I can't remember any yokai or mythical creatures that match Guardian-kun."

"That's not exactly my name, you know."

"Huh?" Now it's my turn to be confused.

"Guardian-kun. It's not my name. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, and I'm half yokai, half human."

"Mmmm. But how come the marker says 'guardian' on it if your name is 'strawberry'?"

"My name is _NOT_ strawberry!" he bursts out. "It's 'ichi' for first place and 'go' for guardian! Why the hell does everybody have to always jump straight to that damn fruit?!"

I can't help but giggle at my strawberry guardian as he rants about the injustice of his association with the fruit because of his name. It's so nice to finally meet him face to face, to be able to have a real conversation with him.

And through it all, I still feel that warmth and safety that I've always associated with him.

* * *

The youngest of the assembled growls in frustration.

"The perpetrators are yet to be identified or caught, Soutaicho. We are still searching diligently, but neither the sealed nor the seal-breakers can be found. If we could just find a clue or a piece of the trail we could find them, but they've shown excellent skill in covering their tracks."

He steps back into his place in the line-up, signifying the end of his report.

"Thank you for your report, Hitsugaya-taicho. Kuchiki-taicho, how are the seals in Daitaiyo temple?"

I step forward to report.

"We have not finished checking yet, Soutaicho. There was an incident that occurred during the checking sequence and I found it prompt to start over to make sure none of the previously checked seals were tampered with. I should be receiving the final report tonight or tomorrow morning." I was rather displeased that my fukutaicho had been slow to report the incident, but one cannot change the past, so I made sure he worked to rectify the mistake and he can hopefully learn from it. Abarai Renji is not a bad fukutaicho, he simply requires more polishing in non-combative duties than most, but he works hard in all areas.

"Very well, Kuchiki-taicho, but I expect that report on my desk by tomorrow evening. Taichos, dismissed!"

The soutaicho bangs his staff against the ground and all the taichos turn on heel and file out the doors of the meeting hall.

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**Please leave a review/comment to tell me how I did.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note**

My guilt tripping worked! I'm a genius! But seriously, I love getting reviews from you guys and it's always nice to know that my work is appreciated and seeing what you guys think about it. Also, don't forget to follow/favorite if you like it, those make me happy too.

Now here's the super long(compared to the others) chapter 11. You finally get an explanation of yokai and stuff. Yay! Now go enjoy!

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I woke to the sound of conversation and the sweet scent of flowers. I could feel the grass beneath my body and the warmth of the sun on me… and the warmth of something else.

I shot up as the memories came back to me of what I had found. The monster was free! We were fighting and he was winning and… why am I not dead? He was going for a finishing blow, there was no hesitation in his actions, so why didn't he finish me?

I look around and find my answer: Orihime. It's faint, but I can just barely remember her asking the yokai to stop before I blacked out. Now she's wildly gesticulating as she describes something to him and his focus is completely on her. If I didn't know better, I would have said it was just two friends talking. But I do, so I reach for my zanpakuto… and it's not there. I begin to panic as I look around, searching frantically for my partner.

"Ah, you're awake, Rukia-chan! Kurosaki-kun said you'd be fine, but I was still worried. Guess I was worried about nothing, huh?" the words are spoken bubbly and light.

I turn to see that both are now focused on me. Orihime is smiling like she always does when she sees a friend. Her pet yokai, because that thing seems to obey whatever she tells it, is scowling at me and it's pretty obvious that he doesn't like me, but will tolerate me only because Orihime wants him to.

"Where's my zanpakuto?" I demand.

"Right here, midget. But you're not getting it back until I think I can trust you with it." the yokai bluntly states, holding up the sheathed Sode no Shireyuki from his opposite side.

"Give it back, you bastard!" I yell as I lunge forward to grab it. "That's mine and you have no right to take her! Give it back, damn it!"

The air heats up some as he holds Sode no Shirayuki out farther rom me. He growls as the other hand comes up to push me back. "I said you'll get it back when I can trust you with it! You're not getting it back a damn moment sooner! So shut the hell up and sit down, midget!"

"I'm not a midget!" I roar as I switch from trying to get my zanpakuto to punching him in the face.

"Agh! Dammit that hurt." he whines as he gives a big shove that pushes me off of him and back onto my butt. With a hand now free he reaches up to rub his now red nose. "Damn violent midget." he grumbles. Before I can give him another for his absolutely rude behavior, Orihime intervenes.

"No more fighting, please!" she begs while moving in between me and that bratty yokai. "You don't need to worry, Rukia-chan. Kurosaki-kun just doesn't want you attacking us again, so he's holding on to your sword until we've talked through your problems. Violence is never the answer, unless you're being attacked by ninjas, then it's always the answer! So you can't use violence because me and Kurosaki-kun aren't ninjas." she cheerfully lectures, drifting into Orihime logic towards the end.

I sputter for a few moments. "Problems?! I don't have problems! My only problem is that _he_," I point to the yokai, "is supposed to be sealed away so that he can't wreak havoc! There's nothing to talk about! I have to reseal him for the safety of others, so give me back my sword so I can kick his ass and seal him!" I rant. I don't have problems, I refuse to have problems, but the damn things like to worm their way into my life anyways.

"Right. Because having a conversation is the definition of chaos and evil." the yokai sarcastically comments back while rolling his eyes. "You do realize if I was all that bad you wouldn't be here right now, right? Besides, I prefer peace for the most part, though some things need to be punched in the face, hard."

"If you're oh so good, then why were you sealed in the first place, huh?" I leer at him. He won't fool me with this "I'm a victim" act.

"That's a pretty personal question." I just glare him down. "Geez, no sympathy, huh? I was reckless and stupid in trying to carry out a couple of vendettas. And before you ask, no they weren't against any humans. They were all a bunch of bastards that killed my family, ok? End of discussion and if you ask again, I'll string you up by your ankles in one of these tree." He grumpily replies, turning away as he finishes.

I hear a sniffle and look over to see Orihime with tears growing in her eyes. "That's so sad, Kurosaki-kun!" she bawls. "Kurosaki-kun lost all his family and got sealed away when he tried to avenge them."

"Hey, hey! Come on, no need to cry. I'm free and I know better than to do it the way I did now. Please stop crying." He begs as he hovers over her, looking unsure as to what to do.

"Come on, listen to grumpy face." "Hey!" "There's nothing you can do about it now and crying won't help either, Orihime" I quietly comfort her while tilting her face with my hand so I can look her in the eyes. I suppose they could have rehearsed this while I was unconscious, it's a good sob story, but Orihime's a horrible liar, which doesn't make for a good actress. However, there is still one part to this story that I need to figure out.

"So you're saying reckless action got you sealed?" he nods his head in affirmation. "Ok. So, then how did you get freed?"

He sighs before replying, "Your security sucks. Ow! What'd you hit me for?! It's true! I got free about a week ago because Inoue was being chased by a lycanthrope in the middle of the night. She led it to here and it ran into the shrine. It hit hard enough to put a crack in the box and knocked most of the tags and shit out of position. The barriers were then weak enough for me to force my way out to defend her. So, in conclusion, because your shitty security allowed a damn lycanthrope to hunt Inoue on the temple grounds, I got free."

I prepare to deny the possibility, because there's no way we're that lax, when I remember that there was that one night a week ago where everyone slept through the night. If something had come on that night, we'd have no clue about it, but…

"How come Orihime never said anything about it then?"

"Ah, w-well, she, um, passed out shortly after I finished the bastard, so I took her to her room and put her back into her bed." He embarrassedly replies while rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't want her to get involved in all this shit if I could avoid it, so, yeah. Thanks for screwing that up."

"You know I thought that was just a dream! You looked pretty scary that night, but I thought you might've been friendly since you saved me and asked if I was alright. Um, but why is it dangerous to know about yokai and magic ice swords?" Orihime questions.

"Because once you know about yokai, you've pretty much invited yourself to get caught up in their affairs, and considering you have no powers, that puts you in a very vulnerable state." I calmly answer her question. "Besides, the stuff that involves yokai can be pretty brutal at times and you're a pretty gentle and innocent person."

"Oh." Her smile dims a bit at this knowledge. "At least I have Rukia-chan and Kurosaki-kun to help me!"

"Right. So I guess the first thing to we can do to help you is explain the basics. Right, Rukia?" the yokai asks me.

"No! The first thing _you_ can do to help is to give me back my zanpakuto. And don't be so familiar with me!" I hit him in the back of the head for his rudeness.

"Quit hitting me! Here, take your stupid sword. What _should_ I call you then? 'Cause all I've got is Rukia or midget."

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia, you yokai bastard. So you may call me Kuchiki-sama or Rukia-sama." I sniff at him while reclaiming my zanpakuto.

"Not happening. My name's Kurosaki Ichigo, by the way. And don't even try calling me strawberry unless you like the idea of hanging upside down for a while." I hit him again for his continuing rude behavior and he just growls. Good, he's learning his place.

"Anyways, back to the basics of yokai and what I suppose you can call yokai hunters. Yokai come with all sorts of shapes, forms, and abilities that can usually at the least let you put them into classes of some sort. The lycanthrope that you ran from fits into the animal class, predatory species, while I fit into the fire class, elemental species. Sometimes you can get yokai that aren't so obvious, but they all fit into some class and species." Ichigo lectures. "You with me so far?"

"I think so." She replies, but she looks a little confused to me.

"What don't you get?" I ask, after all, I'm her teacher too.

"Well, Kurosaki-kun said he's only half yokai, so doesn't that change his classification?"

"WHAT?! Only half… No way! Half breeds aren't that strong!" I look at him in surprise. There's absolutely no way I just got beaten by half breed. I'd be a laughing stock if anyone found out I couldn't even take on half a yokai.

"Well I am. And, yes, half breeds normally aren't even remotely as strong as I am. Geta-boshi figures I'm so strong because I've got good blood lines. I seriously don't know if it's that or something else. And I suppose you could give me special classifications, but I usually just go with how I'd be classified for being pure yokai since I can pass for one most of the time." he explains. I'm still shocked with the fact that he is only a_ half_ yokai. In general, half-blood means less than half the strength of the yokai parent. For Ichigo to be this strong, his parent was either an absolute monster or he somehow turned out stronger than his parent. Either scenario is a little scary to think about.

"In general, yokai live very long lives, though a couple species are short lived. Most of us are more durable, stronger, and faster than the average human. There's also what I suppose you could call a secondary type of yokai, but I'll get to that later. Yokai hunters are human and can be split into three categories: shinigami, fullbringers, and Quincy. I'll let Rukia start with explaining shinigami since she is one."

I blink a bit in surprise. I figured Ichigo would just explain it all and leave me to throw in anything I thought he missed.

"Ahem, um, right. So shinigami are humans who contract with a yokai sealed within a sword know as a zanpakuto. The human must meet certain criteria to even be capable of becoming a shinigami. I'm not entirely sure what the criteria are, but it has something to do with the quality of the person's soul. After you've been scouted, they put you into training to learn the techniques of the shinigami, which splits into four areas: hakuda, which is hand to hand combat, hoho, which is high speed movement, zanjutsu, which is swordsmanship, and kido, which are spells exclusively used by shinigami. During this training you try to find the zanpakuto that resonates best with you to form your contract. The yokai, which we refer to as zanpakuto spirits, are often very picky in the kind of person that they'll contract with because they can't switch until the current contractor dies. The contract is officially made when you achieve shikai by learning the command and name of the zanpakuto, and there's no short cuts because the zanpakuto will change their name with each wielder. Shikai is in essence the awakening of the spirit within the zanpakuto so that its powers may be used. Zanpakuto have a second level of release known as bankai, which requires a very strong bond between shinigami and zanpakuto. It is often earned through a trial set by the zanpakuto spirit. Bankai is when the shinigami is possessed by the zanpakuto and allowed to use that yokai's full power. The contract with the zanpakuto also allows us to share in their longevity and as well as their increased physical shinigami belong to the Gotei 13, seeing as they have all the zanpakuto and the art of making them is only know to the noble families among the yokai."

"Ok, so shinigami use yokai swords to fight yokai." I nod, she's summed it up fairly well.

"Moving on to fullbringers." Ichigo cuts in. "They are humans who can use yokai class abilities by channeling power through objects that they're very familiar with and have pride in. There are two theories on how one is created. The first is that they come from highly diluted yokai blood whose power happened to manifest in them. So like a half breed's many greats grandkid or something like that. The second is that their mother was exposed to high amounts of yokai reiatsu during the pregnancy and the child thus took on several yokai traits. I don't think it particularly matters either way. By channeling whatever yokai traits they have into the souls of inanimate objects, they can replicate yokai class abilities. Fullbringers are generally termed as the weakest class of yokai hunters simply because their potency tends to be a little low compared to the other types, though their elite still match up fairly well with the others' elite."

"So fullbringers are like shinigami, except they don't have to use a sword?"

"Kind of." I reply. "Fullbringers access the power of the souls of inanimate objects around them using their own power while shinigami use strictly their own power and the power of their zanpakuto."

"Ok, I think I get it." she says while furrowing her brow.

"It's alright if you can't completely understand how shinigami and fullbring powers differ." Ichigo chimes in. "Just think of it as one's an exclusive relationship with a sword, the other is an exclusive, strong bond with one item and friends with everything else, when it comes to outside power."

"Oh, that makes more sense." she smiles at understanding it. I'm seriously tempted to face palm at the need for such a childish explanation.

"Lastly there are Quincy." Ichigo goes back to lecturing. "Quincies are the only group that have no reliance what so ever on a yokai's power. Instead, they use ambient reishi or they steal it from their opponents. Quincy abilities are kind of like jack knives in that as long as the Quincy knows what they're doing, they can manipulate the reishi to have any sort of effect or create any shape, usually a weapon of some sort. However, when they steal an opponent's reishi most of the properties remain the same, so if one were to steal energy from my fire they'd most likely only create their own fire attack. A Quincy will usually specialize in bringing out a certain trait in their reishi manipulation, like using it for lightning effects or increased strength or something. Being a Quincy is also a blood line trait, though there were rumors that the original Quincy was still alive and could grant the capabilities to anyone. Anyways, because of the more 'self-reliant' nature of their power, Quincy tend to believe themselves superior to fullbringers and even more so to shinigami. Most of them also harbor a hatred of yokai in general, believing that all of us wish to do nothing but cause trouble and harm humans. In the past, a lot of the more effective onmyouji where actually Quincy while shinigami and fullbringers were the fairy tale heroes defeating the evil yokai."

"Oh, so there are real onmyouji out there?"

"I guess, although most of them today are fakes." I reply. It's really kind of sad that some people will fall for the phonies. The ones that do are usually people who don't even have to worry about yokai, the idiots.

"So now are you going to tell me about the secondary type of yokai?"

"Yeah." Ichigo almost sounds reluctant to talk about them, but I can understand why. They're not a very pleasant subject and with his power, he might not have that immunity that most half breeds seem to have. "They're feral or fallen yokai called hollows. A hollow is created when a yokai's heart is destroyed. I'm not talking about the internal organ that pumps blood, it's more along the lines of the emotional and mental heart. A yokai's heart is also the source of their powers, for some it has a physical form and others it doesn't. This heart can be destroyed through very heavy emotional and mental trauma that the yokai doesn't recover from in time, by a certain taboo spell that was lost, or sometimes they are physically destroyed. Once the heart is lost, a hole appears in the body and a mask forms over their face, so hollows are easy to differentiate from regular yokai. With their heart's lost, their powers warp and they lose all human consciousness, they becomes beings of instinct and any intelligence that remains is used to create better hunting patterns. A hollow experiences an insatiable hunger for reiryoku because they have lost their heart that produces their own reiryoku. They devour others in an attempt to replace the functions of their lost heart. They will first target anyone they previously cared about because they're trying to seek fragments of their emotional and mental heart to try and fill the emotional void. After that is completed, they hunt whatever they can get their claws on, usually going after people with higher amounts of reiryoku, to fill the power void. A hollow can't go back once it's completed, though a yokai can exist on the brink of being a hollow for extended periods of time. It is possible for a shinigami or fulbringer to become a hollow since they use a yokai's power, however it's extremely rare because so few have access to the yokai heart of their powers and because their humanity can stabilize the yokai part from completely breaking."

"So it's also uncommon for half breeds too? Right, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime interjects, a note of worry and urgency laced in her voice.

"Um, yeah. For the most part, though more yokai-like half breeds like me run a higher risk of hollowfying. Hollows are killed on sight because no good ever comes of letting them live. All they do is kill and eat to become more powerful. The only reason that they aren't all dead or dead shortly after creation is that all hollows are capable of slipping into another dimension that can only be accessed by hollows. By slipping away like this, the smarter ones avoid capture or defeat by retreating where we can't follow. The smarter ones may also stay there and feed on their brethren, never running the risk of meeting a more powerful yokai or yokai hunter. And I think that wraps up the basics of yokai and yokai hunters. Anything you'd like to add, Rukia?"

I think on it some, but it seems we've covered the basics of what yokai and yokai hunters are in terms of existence and ability pretty well. "I think we're good. Duties, jobs, and relations can be covered latter. Judging by the sun's position, we have dinner in a little while and I still need to report back on the state of your seal."

Orihime looks down at her watch while Ichigo pales.

"You're right, dinner's in ten minutes."

"You can't tell them I'm free! They'll just try to shut me up in the damn box again!"

I grab Orihime's hand and start to lead her away while he protests my report. When we reach the start of the trail, Orihime tugs on my hand.

"You're not really going to tell on him and get him resealed, are you?" she whispers to me. I just smile evilly before turning to look over my shoulder.

"Be a good little strawberry and maybe I won't' tell them where you come from." I drop over my shoulder before turning back and dragging Orihime down the path with me. I internally chuckle at the growls and curses he directs at me. Payback is so sweet.

"Bye, Kurosaki-kun! I'll try to come visit tomorrow." Orihime calls back with a little wave. Soon enough we're out of sight of the clearing. I've got a quick, little report to falsify before dinner, so I pick up the pace, bringing Orihime with me.

* * *

_Report to Kuchiki-taicho_

_Subject: Daitaiyo Temple Seals_

_All the seals have had full procedure checks. Strengthening and renewals were performed as necessary. No seals were broken and besides the one incident, there have been no mishaps. Enclosed are full detail reports of each seal's checking process written and signed by the staff handling it._

_ –__Abarai Renji, fukutaicho of squad six_

* * *

Hope all that explaining is clear to you, if not, drop a line and I'll try to clear it up for you.

**Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note**

I don't know why, but it seems the chapters are slowly getting longer. Oh well. Thanks for the reviews, favs, and follows and keep 'em coming, I do so enjoy getting them.

Anywho, enjoy chapter 12!

* * *

I was humming as I picked weeds out of the carrot patch. It was a pleasantly warm day, even if the sky was overcast, and things had been just wonderful recently. Tatsuki-chan had gotten back from her tournament three days ago. She won 1st place and the title of strongest girl in Japan. I'm so happy for her. Of course, it's also great to have her back after missing her for three weeks, especially when it should have been two. Tatsuki-chan said there was a leak that caused some flooding at the main tournament arena, so they had to postpone some of the final matches while they cleaned that up. There's also the other little wonder in my life of finally getting to have conversations with Kurosaki-kun. He likes to pretend to be grumpy and mean, but he's really very sweet and kind. He usually just listens to me talk about my day while commenting on things and scolding me when I do something "dangerous." But I don't mind, I think his scowls are cute and it's nice to know he cares.

Rukia-chan went with me the other day to see Kurosaki-kun. I can't tell if they get along or not. They yell at each other and Rukia-chan will hit Kurosaki-kun and he'll growl and curse at her, but there's no real hatred or anything to it. It's like they have a secret language made of insults and abuse! I wish I was a linguist so I could figure out what they're really saying to each other.

They also taught me a bit more about yokai and hunter, Kurosaki-kun says it's easier to use just hunter and Rukia-chan agrees, society. They said that yokai tend to live in small private communities so they don't have to hide their nature. These communities are usually a higher ranking family and its supporting households. There is usually a head of clan and a group of elders to run the community. The elders don't have to technically be elders, just people who are wise and good at social/political maneuvering, so they're usually older. While the head is a hereditary position and is more of a symbolic leadership, though some heads would have a heavy hand in running the clan. Strictness of hierarchy and emphasis on bloodlines varies from clan to clan, but Kurosaki-kun doesn't know much about it because his clan was pretty lose on such things. The hunters are split into three main groups: the Gotei 13, Xcution, and Vandenreich. Vandenreich is exclusively made of Quincies, so Rukia-chan and Kurosaki-kun don't know much about its inner workings. Xcution is made of fullbringers, though Kurosaki-kun said he heard that they have a couple of shinigami potentialists who learned fullbring heading them. The Gotei 13 are a mostly made of shinigami, though there are some fullbringers who have joined them, like Sado-kun, and the occasional yokai or half breed. The Gotei 13 are made of 13 squads with two, almost four, subdivisions. The subdivisions are the Kido core, who specialize in spell casting, and the Onmitsukido, who are like ninjas, doing lots of shadow work and are currently run by Squad Two. They exist for those with shinigami potential that can't find their zanpakuto partner as well as specialists that wish to join. The kind of third one is Squad Four, who specializes in healing and runs all of the medical affairs of the Gotei, so they don't exactly need zanpakuto either, since most healing is done with kaido, the medical branch of kido. The almost fourth one is the Deparment of Research and Development run by Squad Twelve, which just requires intellect, not a zanpakuto. The R&D makes items to ease shinigami work, update techniques to easier methods, and discovers new techniques, or rediscovers in some cases. Each squad has a taicho, fukutaicho, and seats down to twenty, taicho and fukutaicho being first and second respectively. Officers are deployed to watch over seals and patrol for hollows all over Japan. When I asked about the rest of the world, Rukia-chan said there are other organizations that take care of those areas. Gotei 13 members also use enchanted keys that can connect any door to certain doors that the spell allows the user access to. It's like a key to anywhere! Well, at least as long as you have the approval for accessing there. Rukia-chan also said that the Gotei 13's headquarters is called Seireitei and is located in an old fortress city somewhere in Japan, but only taicho and fukutaicho know exactly where. Rukia-chan also talked a lot more about particular specialties of the squads, but I don't really remember much more.

I chase such complicated thoughts from my mind and go back to pulling weeds. I look up and notice a rather large, orange cat wandering by the buildings and can't help but think that its fur matches Kurosaki-kun's hair. I smile at the cat before returning my attention back to gardening.

"Hey, Inoue. Got some time to talk?"

I startle at the sudden sound of his voice. My head whips up as I search for Kurosaki-kun, but I can't find him. "Where are you Kurosaki-kun?" I whisper out.

I hear him chuckle in response before he replies, "Look down and to your left."

I follow his instructions and see the orange cat sitting at my side looking up at me expectantly. He's also bigger than I originally thought.

"How is Kurosaki-kun a cat?" I ask as I tilt my head to the side as I reach out and stroke his fur. I can't help myself, I like to pet animals that come within range. His fur is soft to the touch and it's warm, as if he's been laying in the sun for hours, even though it's overcast and impossible. He arches up a bit into my hand, silently encouraging further petting.

"Well, being partially made of fire has its uses. I can take on a couple of different forms, one of which is this cat form." He purrs as I begin to scratch behind his ears and the warmth of his fur seems to spread into the air around us. "The only problem is that it does cause me to act slightly cat-like." he further explains as he presses harder into my hand and increases the volume of his purrs. I giggle a bit, he sounds exasperated by the forced behavioral change, but his purrs contradict any dislike for his current condition.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask as I finish scratching him and move back to pulling weeds.

"Hmmm?" he dazedly replies, moving in close, nuzzling my side before laying down beside me. I giggle again because just a little petting and scratching has momentarily blissed him out. "Oh, right. I was going to ask if you're free to go out this afternoon. A couple of… friends of mine have been bothering me to introduce you and I figured you could also use a couple more people to go to incase you get in trouble and Rukia and I aren't available." _Not to mention who knows what tortures they'd come up with to force me to bring her in._ I feel him shudder a bit after that and wonder if he's somehow cold. "So, if you're free, I'll take you to meet them."

"That should be fine. I'll just go with you instead of going to your shrine today." I absently reach back and start petting him again only to feel him role over so that I'm stroking his stomach. "By the way, Kurosaki-kun, why'd you come as a cat instead of a human like you normally do?"

"Hmmm? Oh, that. That's because I figured a cat would be less suspicious to the others here then having some guy randomly walk up to you. They still don't know I'm free and that'll be easier to maintain if they're not trying to figure out who the new guy you're talking to is." He roles again so that I'm petting his side now. "I'll pick you up at the park down the road from here so we can go visit my friends. Sound good?"

"Yep! I can't wait to meet Kurosaki-kun's friends!" I pump my fist in the air.

"Uhhh, right." he uncertainly replies. Kurosaki-kun then gets up, shakes himself off a bit, then pads away to do whatever it is he does during the day. I really should ask him sometime instead of just telling him all about myself.

* * *

I sit in the park waiting for her to finish her work. I really don't want to do this. I _know_ Urahara and Yoruichi, and they're going to do everything they can to embarrass me in front of Inoue. The only reason I agreed is because Urahara pointed out that having someone for Inoue to go to in emergencies that I felt I could trust would be good and, more so, because both him and Yoruichi threatened to bug the heck out of me if I didn't. I really hate them sometimes.

I sigh and lean back on the bench, pondering what tortures await me in that god forsaken store. It's not like I don't like them or appreciate all they've done for me, it's just that they love to get on my nerves and I don't' want her to think badly of me. Sure, she accepts my arguments with Rukia, but we didn't start on friendly terms so that's reasonable. There's also the fact that they're crazy and I don't want to weird her out. Ugh, there are just so many things asking to go wrong today, maybe I should just call it off.

"Ohayou, Kurosaki-kun~!" her melodious voice rings out and I bring my gaze around to see her waving as she approaches me. She's wearing a baby blue, ankle length skirt and a soft pink shirt with three quarters sleeves, so different looking from the clothes she wore on the first night or the traditional clothes she wears for work that she doesn't change out of for when she visits me.

"Hey, Inoue." I lazily wave back as I push myself to my feet. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" her eager reply comes and her eyes shine with an excited light. I can't understand why she wants to meet them so badly, maybe it's because she doesn't know them yet.

"Alright, come on." And I lead her away towards the shop.

We walk in silence for a while before she finally decides to break it. "I like your outfit, Kurosaki-kun."

I look to her in surprise. Her cheeks are a little red. I'm pretty sure this outfit is nothing special, it's just a plain, white t-shirt with a red, short sleeve jacket with black trim and green pants. I've seen guys wearing similar clothing and I just picked my own color scheme. "Um, thanks."

Soon enough, too soon if you ask me, we arrive at the Urahara Shoten. I take a deep, fortifying breath, hoping just a little bit that they're out and forgot to put a sign up. I slide the door open and step through the entryway, tensed and prepared for whatever mischief they've prepared.

"Why, good afternoon, Kurosaki-san!" the ever grinning shopkeeper calls out, sitting at the counter and waving his fan in greeting. Inoue steps into the shop behind me. "And who might your lovely companion be? A girlfriend, perhaps?" he questions as a lecherous smirk works its way onto his face. I heat up, and I'm pretty sure the room does too, in mortification. I've barely set foot in the shop and it's already begun.

"S-shut up, Geta-boshi! She's not my girlfriend!" I yell back. I'm so gonna hear it for stuttering on that.

"W-what?! N-no, we're not… I-I mean he's just…" Inoue splutters, just as embarrassed as I am.

That damn Geta-boshi just laughs his head off and I hear the deep laughs of Yoruichi's cat form join in. I just growl, this is exactly why I considered not bringing her here.

"Just shut the hell up! I agreed to bring Inoue to meet you guys, but if you're gonna be like this, we'll leave!" I yell at them already half turned to walk out the door. I glance at Inoue out of the corner of my eye, noting a shocked look on her face. I know she wanted to meet them, but if they're going to mess with us, I'd rather go somewhere else.

Their laughter dies down a bit. "H-hold on, Kurosaki-san. You know we don't mean any harm." _That still doesn't give you the excuse to be so embarrassing. _"So this is the girl that's been visiting you for the past three months."

"Um, yes. Inoue Orihime, it's nice to meet you." she replies, bowing with her introduction.

"My, what a polite one you've found. How have you not driven her off yet?" Yoruichi comments. I just growl again.

"Oh! He's not that bad, um…"

"Yoruichi. Shihoin Yoruichi, but please just call me Yoruichi."

"Right! He's not that bad, Yoruichi-san, just a little bit grumpy!" Inoue happily exclaims. I just huff a bit, I've been called worse.

"Ha! Just a little bit! This kid's scowling all the time! I'd say he's a lot grumpy." the feline scoffs back.

"Now, now, Yoruichi-san. Let the girl have her beliefs about our little Kurosaki-san. I'm Urahara Kisuke, by the way, humble shopkeeper and inventor." he introduces with a smile. Inoue smiles back, of course.

"Come, come. We can take this little meeting to one of the back rooms. I'll have Tessai make us some tea." the shopkeeper suggests, gesturing for us to follow to the back rooms. We follow, though I'm still worried about what they might say. Oh well. Guess I signed up for this, even if I didn't want to.

* * *

Lying in my futon after a full day, I ponder what I've learned today. Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san were Kurosaki-kun's teachers over a hundred years ago. Urahara-san was exiled from the Gotei 13 for false accusations against him and was able to escape, thus retaining his zanpakuto. Yoruichi-san was also a part of the Gotei 13, though she's a noble yokai, and she helped Urahara-san escape and went into hiding with him. To Kurosaki-kun, they're like an aunt and uncle, even though they tease and annoy him so much.

There are other people at the shoten too. There was Tsukabishi Tessai, Urahara's friend and assistant manager to the shoten. Tessai-san is a very tall man, even taller than Sado-kun! And like Sado-kun, he's super nice and he makes very good tea. He also was exiled with Urahara-san, though he never had a zanpakuto, he was a kido master instead. There's also Tsumugiya Ururu, a quiet girl who Urahara-san picked up a few years ago, and Hanakari Jinta, a fiery young boy with hair the same color as Abarai-kun's who was picked up a little after Ururu-chan. Everyone at the shop is very nice and I feel that I can trust them just like Kurosaki-kun does.

It was nice to meet people that Kurosaki-kun knew and knew him. It made me realize just how much I don't know about him, especially compared to them.

But that's alright, I'll just have to work to get to know him better.

* * *

I've made my preparations, tommorow's the day. I'm ready to make my challenge and prove my strength.

* * *

I just wanted a cat Ichigo for some reason, for those who don't like it, don't worry I don't think he'll show up like that too much. _No guarantees, I write a chapter at a time and just aim for scenes I want in the story, so I have no clue where we're going. _I also stole the key thing from Blue Exorcist, except I made it one key for all so they don't have a jingling ring to give them away during fights and stuff. And if you'd like to see Ichigo's outfit for this chapter go to masterqwertster . deviantart art/ Bleach-Chapter-534-Color-Page-Remix- 454440815 (don't forget to remove spaces) to see my remix with the outfit. Feel free to check out the rest of my art while you're there.

**Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did and don't forget to fav/follow.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note**

Alright! Finally done. I thought about splitting this into two chapters, but I didn't want to, so instead it's about twice as long, page wise, than the other chapters. It's also my first full on fight scenes, so I hope you guys like them and _do_ give me some feed back on them.

Anywho, enjoy chapter 13.

* * *

I hadn't planned on giving the yokai three days, but with school and club meetings, I didn't really have the time. However, it's the weekend now and I was able to scout out a good place for us to duel during the week. He was obviously from the fire class of yokai, so I've found a nice empty stretch of river bank so I'll have plenty of water to douse him with. He really is a moron, giving me the complete field advantage like that. I ignore the small doubt that niggles at the back of my mind saying that he might not care because the battle field can offer a negligible difference to his combat capabilities. I've also prepared a couple of traps to keep him from running off once we start the duel.

I check my gear once more and straighten out my uniform, specially made over the past couple of days with fire-proof material and cutaway seams in case he does somehow set it alight. Satisfied that I'm prepared and presentable, I slip out of my apartment and head for the shrine where I can sense him.

After carefully winding through the forest outside the temple, I reach the clearing. The yokai is laying atop the shrine on his back with three fireballs the size of basketballs rotating over his hand in the air. The fireballs are all different colors, one is black edged in red, another is a light blue, and the last is a normal orange. I watch as he juggles them by just moving his fingers, as if they were marbles in his palm, in a bit of fascination. He doesn't seem to realize I'm there, so great is his concentration. I clear my throat and he starts in surprise. The fireballs start to swell up before he fists the hand they were floating over, extinguishing them. "Yo, four-eyes. Come to have that fight?"

My eye twitches at his dismissive way of treating me. "Yes, I have come for that duel. If you will follow me, I'll take you to the venue I've selected for this." I turn on heel and walk away, not checking to see if he follows. I hear the thump as he hits the ground, then the soft swish of cloth and grass as he follows after me. Satisfied that he is following, I set off at a slow hirenkyaku. No point in letting him know my full speed, besides, he may not be able to keep up.

"Any particular reason we're going so slow, four-eyes?" the obnoxious thing asks. "We can go faster, y'know. Unless, of course, this is _your_ top speed." I have half a mind to shoot him now and the other half wants to leave him in the dust for his implied insult.

Instead, I take a fortifying breath and up the speed a bit, I still believe it wise to leave him without knowledge of my true speed. "Better?" I sarcastically reply.

"Not really, but if this is the _best_ you can do, I guess it'll do." he says in a bored tone. This bastard must be a master at goading or have no strategy at all and a complete willingness to show his hand before we even begin. Either way, he is seriously testing my patience and self-control because the urge to just shoot him keeps getting stronger with every word that leaves his mouth.

After upping the pace once again, and I blame him entirely for that, we reach the spot after a few minutes. It's out past the outskirts of town on the banks of the Karasu River. The area is fairly clear, with a couple of big rocks and a pebble beach. I'm sure it would be a favored camping spot if it weren't for the steep, four meter drop off about six meters from the shore. The drop off makes it necessary to be slightly super human to have a hope of getting out of here considering that the river current's too strong to chance swimming and there's a boulder ring around the shoreline that can't be braved by boats. It is perfectly secluded for this duel, no worries about being spotted and no worries about collateral damages to innocent people or structures.

I land in the area and turn to face the yokai who is curiously peering around. "Not a bad spot. Nice and secluded and you even tried to one up me by picking a venue with a water feature." He commentates and I feel a slight shiver run down my spine at how easily he dismisses the river as a hindrance. It seems that niggling feeling was correct and the field offers little advantage.

"Though I'm surprised you didn't pick a better battle ground for yourself. With all this open space, you'll be an easy target, Archer-_san _." And I feel that shiver return. I had considered finding a field with more cover, but I figured that would give him more to burn and the river would be a better advantage. "Hope you like up close and personal combat." He says with a feral grin spreading across his lips as flames gather in his right hand, fading away to reveal a pitch black daito that reflects the light like obsidian.

I form my bow and tense in preparation for a fight I may have underestimated. Across from me, the yokai is in a lax stance, the sword pointing down at the ground at his side. "So how're we gonna do this thing? It just crossed my mind that we have no rules or anything set up for this." he questions as he brings the blade up to rest on his shoulder.

"We will fight until one of us is unable to continue or forfeits. If I win you must leave Inoue-san alone and be gone from Karakura, otherwise I'll be within my rights to end you." I glare at him as I deliver my conditions.

"So what do I get if I win?" That question throws me slightly off kilter. What does he get? Hell, what does he even want?

"What do you want?"

He tilts his head to the side and brings he free hand up to his chin, obtaining a look of deep contemplation. "I've heard chocolate cake from ABCookies is to die for. If I win, you have to buy me a whole chocolate cake from there!" I can feel my jaw drop in disbelief. We are fighting a battle that will force him to leave, and in exchange he wants chocolate cake. Is he stupid?! Just what kind of mental deficiency makes a person stake their life on chocolate cake?! I'm not sure whether I should face palm or try and find a mental institute for him.

"A-alright." I weakly reply, this is just so stupid! "If you win I'll get you a chocolate cake."

"From ABCookies." He demands.

"Fr-from ABCookies." I wonder what I have done wrong in a past life to have to deal with such idiocy.

"Alright! Kurosaki Ichigo, pleasure to be kicking your ass." he introduces himself while taking a stance with his sword.

Shaking my head to rid myself of the musings on Kurosaki's intelligence levels, I take my own stance. "Ishida Uryu, by the honor of the Quincy I will defeat you."

He snorts. "Good luck with that." And I finally get to shoot him like I've wanted to since I've met him.

He casually bats the arrow down with his blade as a heat wave rolls off him, bringing the area under a sweltering heat. A strategic move I hadn't expected. This heat will cause me to tire physically much more quickly, giving him an advantage with his immunity to it, possibly a boost, though I doubt that since he's generating the heat. He charges forward, covering the distance between us in an instant, and swings his sword for a horizontal strike. He's fast. I dodge to the right with a roll and bring my bow up to fire on him once more, point blank range. As I release the arrow, his form flickers before disappearing from my sight only to reappear several meters back from me.

"Not bad." he grins. "You've got pretty decent reflexes for a long range fighter." Then he charges in once more. His blade alights with the blue flames I saw earlier as he makes a one-handed overhead strike and I dodge with hirenkyaku, getting distance between us as I fire five bolts at him and watch the result of our attacks. He hits the ground, sending chunks of earth flying into the air around him. He's strong. Then twists, flinging out his left arm in an arcing motion, leaving a wall of those black flames in the path of my arrows. They hit the flames and seem to melt away, none making it past the barrier he's erected. He bursts through the flames with a low to high, right to left diagonal slash. I barely pull back in time and he nicks my cape.

Panting, I stare him down across the gap he's allowed between us, there's no use in deluding myself that it's there for any other reason. He's powerful. Much more so than I gave him credit for. His speed is high, I'm not sure I could out run him. His physical strength is high, one hit when he's going at it and I'd be done for. And his defense is strong, those black flames of his would take a lot of power to penetrate, power that I can only achieve using Seeleschneider, and I'd like to save that for a surprise. The worst part is probably this heat wave he's generated. I need time to properly assess my opponent for weak points, but this heat makes any prolonged fight a bad idea. I doubt Kurosaki is stupid enough to pull something like this if he didn't have the reserves to keep it going long enough to gain significant effect, he strikes me as someone who knows their way around the battlefield.

I need to test his mobility against multiple attacks, though I'm pretty sure he does that well too. The last thing to test would be how good his defensive coverage is. After I have that data, I should be able to get an effective plan to put him in the river so that he's weakened and easy prey.

I straighten up and start hitting him with volleys of a dozen arrows each, carefully watching his reactions as he dodges, slashes, and blocks them. His preference for using the sword and dodging is obvious, so the flames are likely draining on his reserves or hard to maintain, thus the minimal use and why he won't just cloak himself in them. I start to bend the paths of some arrows so that they become less predictable. His reflexes are excellent, but he has trouble in dealing with assault from more than three directions. His favored maneuvers seem to be head-on charges and flash-bys. During my testing he got a few small scratches on my arms, left leg, and side.

I've got his attacks and defense figured out, now to bring him down. I use shots from four directions to get him to bring up his flame barrier, it blinds him for the short moments it's in action. Under that cover I draw a seeleschneider and fire at where the barrier is. I know he knows the shot is coming, but he doesn't realize that this one will pierce his guard. I feel a smirk on my lips as I hear him cry out from the shot connecting and am pleased to see the gash I've landed on his left arm dripping blood down his fingers as the flames die down. He gives me a murderous scowl before charging in, blade alight in blue flames once more. I dodge to the side, but the flames are wilder this time and they catch my sleeve on fire. I quickly discard the sleeve, glad I thought ahead to make this uniform with cutaway seams for easy removal, and throw it towards his face for distraction. He bats it out of the way with his free hand and barely dodges the arrow I launched at him, earning a cut on his right cheek.

He growls and I can see that these strikes are starting to get to him. I push on, moving back to get some space and using a large volley of over two dozen arrows to cover my retreat, throwing another seeleschneider into the mix. I hear him roar in pain again and see that I've managed to put a good gash in his right shoulder. He disappears in a flash of shunpo and I barely dodge the overhead strike, instead feeling the intense heat as his blade swings by and getting hit by the debris caused when the blow hits the ground. Jumping back, I see his attack has left a small burnt crater, as if a meteorite has struck there, and my heart pounds wildly in my chest at the close call with such a strong attack.

I quickly move around with hirenkyaku, firing off shots, and subtly guiding him into position for my next move. When he's at the spot I want, I pull out another seeleshneider, aim, and shoot. He easily dodges it, laughing and calling out, "You gettin' tired already?"

"Hardly, I just think it's time you take a dip. _Schleudern!" _With the shouted command, Kurosaki is caught in a net of blue energy coming from the three seeleschneider that flings him out over the river, but he twists in the air so that he lands on one of the rocks in the water. I still shoot the arrow I had prepared to get him with once he was in the water, hoping to knock him off balance and put him in the river anyways. He brings out his flames to block it.

"Nice try, Ishida!" he taunts as he jumps back to shore. I curse in my head at the failed trap, but I at least learned that he is cautious of being thrown in the river. It'll be hard to get him in now that he'll be looking for such attempts, but I'll manage, there's a reason I'm the top student in my grade.

Kurosaki is now panting a bit before me, but not as bad as me though, the heat is just killing me. "What'd ya say we finish up here? One final push to see who wins." he suggests. I consider his proposal, but I'm rather wary of it considering how following his suggestions seems to have gone so far.

"And if I say no?" The truth is I'm reaching my limit because of that unbearable heat, but he doesn't know that. I think.

"Well, we'll keep going and I'll kick your ass for sure because I'm ready to end this with a final shot."

"I wouldn't be so confident. I could dodge that 'final shot' of yours and then finish you." He just gives a tired laugh in reply and I narrow my eyes at him.

"It'd only be final 'cause it'd end the damn fight, Ishida, not cause I've only got energy for one last attack. So, we gonna have a final showdown or do you wanna drag this out?"

"Fine. Let's–"

I stop midsentence because I can feel it. A hollow has come to join the brawl.

* * *

I hadn't really expected Quincy boy to show up in just three days. I'd figured he would take the time to stalk me or something to try and figure out habits or some shit so he could lay traps or have an idea on how I fight before he came back. I also figured it'd take him longer to find a good place to fight with so many people and buildings around. Guess I was wrong about all of that.

His location wasn't exactly a bad idea, most flame class would be nervous fighting near a river where their flames could be extinguished, doesn't help that most don't know how to swim. Me, I'm fine with water. My black flames can burn in water, only problem is they're about half as effective when wet. The problem with the location is that he's a long range fighter and there's not a lot of cover here, so it's a straight charge to him when I want to bring it in close. But I suppose it's a good field for me right now since it won't require me to use my flames offensively just to hit him. My control's never been good and since I've barely had any time to adjust to being outside again and able to use my powerss, my control's even suckier than usual, which means minimal use is good since I don't particularly want to kill the Quincy, even if he is a prick who bothers people in the middle of the night.

When he asked me what I wanted if I won, I was surprised. I thought he had already figured out the rewards since he proposed this duel. So I thought on it and remembered when Inoue had talked about this really delicious treat she got. I was curious and since it would practically be free, I made this chocolate cake she told me about my prize. If I don't like it, I can give it to Inoue, or possibly use it to bribe Rukia to quit hitting me.

After introductions, we begin the duel. He's not too bad, at least he doesn't falter too much from the heat I've decided to unleash on the area. I'm not in the mood for a long battle and I doubt Ishida can push me to where I need to spend energy on attacking and defending instead of a heat wave. He has good reflexes, dodging most of my attacks with a narrow margin and the ones that do hit are, for the most part, superficial. They'll add up eventually and probably sting like hell, but for now they barely slow him down.

When he actually pierces my flames and hits me with that strange arrow, it _burns _like a thousand papercuts, and I can't help but cry out and get mad. I charge him, only having enough reason to at least stick with my weaker blue flames instead of just going for annihilation black. I still don't want to kill him, but seriously maiming him is a very open possibility. When I miss, he throws his flaming sleeve in my face and scores a scratch on my cheek when I dodge his arrow. I just growl with frustration and annoyance at the small cut.

He starts another volley and I just place myself behind a shield of black flame, only to get hit by another one of those _burning_ arrows. All I can see is red. Those wounds freaking _hurt_ and I intend to return the pain. Using shunpo to get in above him, I swing my sword down, barely realizing that it is coated in flame. The burnt crater I create leaves me a small amount of satisfaction because I can see the fear flicker across his arrogant face at the sight of my destructive power.

I weave through his next volley and easily dodge when he fires another of those special arrows, taunting him and believing that he's finally starting to succumb to the heat. He proves me wrong when he makes some sort of energy net catapult that flings me towards the river. _Shit_. It's not like falling in the river will kill me or anything, it'll just be a pain to get out without turning into a pincushion since it's hard to burn when I'm sopping wet. I twist myself around so that I land on one of the boulders in the river that sticks out above the current, bringing out my flames once more to block his shot at me. I quickly jump through the flames and back to the river bank, calling out, "Nice try, Ishida!"

I then try and get him to go for a final shoot out. I want to end this fairly, which it won't be if I'm the only one trying to force an end to the duel. He's reluctant, but his fatigue is showing and I'm sure he'll cave. Just as he begins to give in, a hollow shows up.

_Dammit_.

It looks like an oversized lion, the shoulder's about 2 meters up, with emerald green flames for its mane and tail tuft. The mask is cat-like with orange striping like whiskers on it. The body is a tan color and the paws sport large claws. It opens its jaw and roars at us before pouncing towards Ishida. I lunge forward, pushing Ishida out of the hollow's path, and roll around to swipe at it with my sword. My blade barely scratches it. _Shit_. This thing has to be close to or lower menos class. _Dammit. _These things don't leave the hollow world too often and I doubt Ishida's ever faced one, I know I haven't. I scramble up as it turns, grabbing Ishida by the back of his collar and shunpoing away as its claws rake through the area we just occupied. I quit pouring out heat, no use tiring the Quincy out now and it'd be bad if the heat helped Whiskers.

"C'mon, Ishida! Quit sitting there all shocked and get your ass in gear!" I yell as I toss him, sending him skidding into a large boulder on shore that I've taken refuge behind. He snaps out of it and looks ready to give me some sort of lecture or scolding, but we don't have any damn time for that, so I cut him off. "Don't care what you're gonna say, don't have time for it. That hollow's close to, if not, menos class and I doubt either of us can win alone. So you watch my back, I'll watch yours, and hopefully we can take this sucker down." I don't' have time to get a reply because the hollow's pouncing again and I'm dodging and swinging at it again, this time using blue flame on my blade to increase my attacking power, letting it flow off the blade to increase my range. The results are better this time, but still not good enough, I'll have to use my black flames to get anywhere. Whiskers turns even faster than before and smashes me into the boulder. I can feel the boulder cracking from my impact with it before I pass through the boulder and crash into the ground on the other side.

_Everything _hurts. I try pulling myself to my feet only for the agony to floor me again. I lay still and start diverting energy to my regeneration abilities. I'm actually quite proficient in regards to my regeneration, lost limbs are nothing, but I try not to use it too much, mostly because Urahara, Yoruichi, and Oyaji beat that sense into me early on in my training. As I work on fixing myself up, Whiskers turns its attention to Ishida with a yowl, probably because of the shining blue arrows I can now see sticking out of its ass. Ishida keeps it occupied by trying to turn it into a pincushion, never staying in the same spot for more than a moment and bending the trajectory of his arrows for better shots. A couple hit the mask, but they lack the force necessary to finish the job, instead leaving small dents and scratches.

Unfortunately, Whiskers gets its claws into Ishida's left leg, causing him to fall on his landing. Then the hollow rears its head back and I can feel the heat gathering for it to breathe fire. Forgoing the slower, more energy efficient healing process, I push myself up and forward to get between Ishida and the flaming kitty. I make it just in time and start absorbing the fire before any of it can get to Ishida. It doesn't take long before Whiskers stops to assess the damage while a small tremor racks through my body. I can't take much more of those flames without getting trouble for it later on, but I'll do what I have to.

"Can you stand, Ishida?" I ask. If he can't I'll have to drag him around, or at least to a safe area. Either way, it won't bode well for this fight.

"Of course." he scoffs as he slowly rises to his feet. I can sense a slight stir in energy around him, so he's probably using some Quincy skill to stand on his busted leg.

Whiskers is done waiting and pounces once more. We both jump back and Whiskers knocks Ishida into a boulder and there's a small cracking noise. He's probably broken a few bones from that, Quincy just aren't that sturdy. It goes for a fireball again and I shunpo into the way and suck it up. Ishida fires several shots over my shoulder while I gather black flames to my blade before launching them at Whiskers. It charges forward, a deep gash in its chest from my attack and arrows sticking out of its shoulders, and hooks me with its claws as I dodge, flinging me away. Ishida gets behind it and fires more arrows into its already bristling hide.

We're not getting anywhere like this. The hollow is good about guarding its mask an when it is vulnerable, neither Ishida nor I have the time to charge an attack with the power required to shatter it. If we're going to bring Whiskers down, one of us has to open it up for the other to attack. It'll be risky, but I'm pretty sure I can give Ishida that chance. I pick myself up from the ground, dismissing my sword, and give an inhuman roar of challenge, gaining the attention of the hollow and startling Ishida. I charge in low and as fast as I can, plowing into the hollow's side and forcing it up and out over the river. As we fall in, I dig the claws of my transformed right hand into Whiskers shoulder and start draining power out of it as best I can, watching as the water and my efforts turn its mane to small flickers and flares. The tremors set in almost immediately and I know it's going to be a damn pain when this is over, but there's no time to worry about it now.

"Shoot it, Ishida!" I roar towards the shore, struggling to stay afloat and attached to Whiskers. I can see him hesitating on the shore line. "Quit your damn sniveling and SHOOT!" he snaps out of it and pulls something from his belt before drawing his bow and shooting. The arrow flies true and hits Whiskers between the eyes, causing the beast to begin its disintegration. I remove my claws from the carcass, allowing my hand to return to human form, before kicking off in a spray of water to land on the shore. At least, try to land. I end up falling down as I land and lay there a few moments, panting hard, before I roll over and get to my feet, struggling to stay steady through the tremors. I walk towards Ishida, acting like nothing's wrong.

"I'd say you owe me that chocolate cake, Ishida– "

_Shit. _I collapse back to the ground and darkness overtakes me.

* * *

We arrive just in time to see that flaming moron tackle a flaming lion hollow into the river. The Quincy, because _no one_ else uses a bow, shoots it in the face and the moron jumps out of the river. I can hear her sigh in relief since he seems to come out unharmed, but sopping wet.

Then he collapses.

She screams his name and goes sliding down the drop off, hitting the ground and sobbing his name the whole run to his side. She falls to her knees beside him and the Quincy is there too, checking his pulse and saying he seems to be fine.

He better be, I still need to kick his ass for making her worry.

* * *

The Karasu River is actually in Karakura, just look at the map in the first character book. _Schleudern_ was a word google translate gave me for fling in German, but if one of you has something better, please tell me and I'll consider changing it. Personally, I loved picking Ichigo's reward, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Any guesses as to what's wrong with Ichigo? I f anyone guesses it right, I'll mention them in the next chapter.

**Please review/comment to tell me how I did.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note**

I'm back! Real life and the internet are distracting! I meant to write this for like three different days, but stuff came up. Also, I hate moving furniture, it's so heavy!

One person guessed very close as to why Ichigo collapsed, and they are Guest. Also, only one other person guessed. Thanks _Kira Tetsu No Chi _for at least trying.

Anywho, on with the story! Enjoy!

* * *

Hearing Inoue-san shout Kurosaki's name as he collapses is a surprise. I might have gotten the relationship between the two wrong, but now's not the time to worry about such things. I rush over to my fallen rival. He's not exactly an enemy anymore, not after that stunt he just pulled. This fight may not have been finished, but, as much as I hate to admit it, he probably would have won, so I have to train and get stronger to beat him next time. He better not be dead, I need him alive so I can kick his ass later and prove that my strength is not something that can be brushed off. Kneeling down next to Kurosaki, I place my fingers against his jugular, like I learned when sensei taught me first aid, and check for his pulse. It's there, beating, if only a little fast. I quickly assure Inoue-san, "He's fine. His pulse is a bit fast, but he's alive." It seems to calm her down some.

I turn my face away from her as I continue the basic checks I've been taught, not wanting her to see the worry there. His breath comes in pants, never a good sign in unconscious people. His skin is hot and it seems he is starting to sweat. Something's not right. If I didn't know better, I would say that Kurosaki collapsed from something like heatstroke, but that's not possible. Kurosaki's a fire class yokai, they don't suffer from high amounts of heat unless it's a good bit above their level of power. The hollow may have been stronger than Kurosaki, but, from what I saw of his flames, it wasn't the heat that put them in separate classes, but rather the amount of power available to them. Trying to unravel this mystery, I hone my senses to study his reiatsu.

"Wha–"

"Maa, looks like Kurosaki-san's overstepped his boundaries."

I whirl around, forming my bow and rising to my feet, to face the speaker. He stands about a meter away staring down at Kurosaki, or, at least, I assume he is. It's hard to tell with the way his green and white striped bucket hat shades his eyes. He carries a cane in one hand and a fan in the other that covers his mouth, making it even harder to get a read on his expression. His black haori with white diamonds on it flutters as he walks forward, wooden geta clacking on the river stones. I tense, preparing for an assault from this stranger who seems to be ordering Kurosaki around if his words are anything to go by.

"Urahara-san! Did you come to help Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue calls out, stopping my brain in its tracks. She _knows_ this guy? Why does she know this guy?

"Sort of, Inoue-san. I came to see who Kurosaki-san could possibly be fighting and, well, here I am!" he finishes with a goofy grin and a flutter of his fan. I keep my bow trained on him. "You can put the bow away now, Ishida-san. I'm not going to hurt anyone." He makes a shoo-ing motion with his fan. I don't budge a centimeter.

"If you were really already out here, why didn't you help us with the hollow? You seem strong enough to at least have been capable of assisting us." I question him, giving him the coldest stare I can muster. "I find it hard to believe you're an ally of any kind when you didn't help us when we could have used it."

"Hmm, well, you see, I like to let Kurosaki-san take care of himself, seeing as he's my student, and only step in when he asks me to or truly needs me to. I figured you and Kurosaki-san could handle a hollow of that level and that it would help Kurosaki-san adjust to being able to use his powers again. I'd be happy to explain more later, once we've gotten Kurosaki-san comfortable back at my shop, or did you forget his current condition." His sudden 180 to a serious tone shakes me, as well as the memory of what I felt when I checked Kurosaki's reiatsu.

"His current condition? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the shinigami that Inoue-san brought with her bursts out.

"All in good time, Kuchiki-san, all in good time." Urahara replies, bending down and slinging Kurosaki over one shoulder. He strolls away, Inoue-san immediately following him, Kuchiki follows her, keeping a wary eye on Urahara, while I bring up the rear, carefully watching Urahara and Kuchiki.

He leads us through the streets of Karakura to a shop tucked away in the Mitsumiya district, egotistically named Urahara Shoten. Seriously, it's a corner candy store, not a family owned restaurant. Urahara takes us to one of the back rooms where a small table and futon have been laid out and tells us to wait a moment while he gets Kurosaki settled in. That plan goes out the window when Kurosaki stirs after being placed in the futon and struggles to sit himself up.

"Lay down, Kurosaki-san. All your little friends are here and you need to rest. Don't worry, I'll explain it all to them, so lay down." Urahara admonishes while trying to push Kurosaki back down.

" 'm fine, Geta-boshi." Kurosaki mumbles, still panting and sounding barely awake. "Wouldn' be right… if I wasn't at least… conscious for this. I should be… explaining it myself." He forces his way into a sitting position, panting and covered in sweat. He looks sick and I have half a mind to try and force him to lay down myself just on principle.

"Kurosaki-kun, you should rest. You look really sick. We won't blame you for resting when you must be feeling so bad." Inoue-san gently tried to convince him.

"Thanks for the… concern, but… I'll manage. Just… let me do this." He gives her a faint, sad smile. Kurosaki is stubborn to the point of idiocy.

Urahara sighs. "I suppose there isn't much use in arguing with stubborn idiots." Kurosaki seems torn between a scowl and a triumphant smirk at this. "If Kuchiki-san and Ishida-san don't mind, would you two please move the table over here since Kurosaki-san seems determined to be a part of this explanation."

Kuchiki and I fulfill his request and move the table and cushions over so that Kurosaki can be at the table without leaving the futon. A large man with glasses then comes in and pours tea for us before leaving. We all look expectantly to Urahara and Kurosaki for an explanation about this "condition" of Kurosaki's.

After taking a long sip of tea, Urahara begins. "So, I believe you three are aware that Kurosaki-san is a half breed yokai, yes?" I blink in shock. Half breed? Half breeds aren't that strong. How is he a half-breed? "Ah, I see Ishida-san didn't but you two ladies did. Well, now you all know. However, knowing Kurosaki-san as I do, I'm assuming that he didn't tell you about his bloodlines." He waits and receives the nods of Kuchiki and Inoue-san's heads.

"I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with Kurosaki's condition?" I ask because, honestly, I have no clue why he figures the actual bloodlines behind a half breed are important. I figured he asked about the half breed thing because being a half breed creates his condition.

"Ah, that's a good question. I suppose I'm giving you this information so that you can understand how Kurosaki-san's condition has come about. Well, at least understand the theories that stand the greatest chance of explaining it anyways. People like Kurosaki-san are rather rare. I'm not sure that any others that are even close to his unique blend exist."

"Jeez, quit… pullin' their… legs and just… explain it already… or 'm gonna quit… restin' an' do it… myself." Kurosaki pants out. We all turn to stare at Urahara.

"Maa, Kurosaki-san, you have no sense for presentation." Urahara chides.

"Geta-boshi–" Kurosaki growls as a threat.

"Fine." Urahara sniffs. "Kurosaki-san's father was Shiba Isshin, head of the branch families of the great noble yokai clan of Shiba. The same Shiba clan that helped to create the first zanpakuto and still guards the secret of zanpakuto creation to this very day." I'm a little relieved at learning this. Being descended from a noble clan explains how Kurosaki can be so strong when he's only a half breed. Kuchiki has a strange look pass over her face as this information is revealed. One of sadness and surprise if I had to guess. "Kurosaki-san's mother was Kurosaki Masaki, last of the Kurosaki household of pureblood Quincies." My mind blanks. I can't process the fact that this yokai half breed before me is somehow related to me. It's rare enough for a Quincy to be in love with a yokai, but a pureblood Quincy, that's practically out of the question! "…so I suppose it would be more accurate to call Kurosaki-san a hybrid over a half breed considering the nature of Quincy powers."

"That's… nice and all," Kuchiki begins, "but how does it tie in to this?"

"I was getting to that." Urahara explains in a miffed tone. "Likely due to his bloodlines, Kurosaki-san is capable of absorbing most spiritual attacks to a certain degree."

"You mean that he can absorb almost any attack with a fire element to it, like he did with the hollow, right?" I inquire.

"No. Like any… attack made with… reiatsu. I can even… absorb reiryoku… if I can get… my claws… or sword… in them." Kurosaki explains, a smug grin on his face even as he sweats and pants, trembling in his effort to stay upright. I shiver as I piece together just what kind of capabilities Kurosaki has. It's terrifying to consider what kind of opponent that makes him. Someone who forces you into close range combat where if you're not careful, he'll hook you and suck you dry of your energy.

"But if you're capable of absorbing reiatsu based attacks, why'd you block my arrows?"

"Kurosaki-san may be capable of absorbing any reiatsu based attack, but he has a hard time doing it with attacks that aren't aligned with the element of fire. Most non-fire based attacks can only be partially absorbed by Kurosaki-san, leaving the attack weaker than it was before. The second reason would be that it's never wise for a person to absorb more than they can handle. You should know that, Ishida-san."

"Right, the two principles when it comes to absorption. One: it's like filling a bucket. All excess energy is forcibly released because it doesn't fit in the container. Two: it's like filling a balloon. When too much energy is taken in, the container will burst and be damaged, if not outright destroyed. So since you've taken the time to bring that up, I'm assuming that Kurosaki is suffering an overload of sorts where he's come dangerously close to his limit and is of the second type."

"Close… but not quite." Kurosaki says, a small, hoarse laugh slipping out of his throat.

"Huh?"

"You're very sharp Ishida-san. Kurosaki-san is an interesting case in that he _is_ currently suffering from overload, however, he does not fit either of the types you've described."

"There's only those two types of overloads. What you're saying isn't possi-"

"Hollow."

That one word from Kurosaki makes me stop and think. As the implications of that one word sink in, I just stare at him. "But, how?"

"Whoa, whoa! Back up a second! I don't know about you, Orihime, but I'm totally lost right now." "Yeah, I'm lost too." "You're saying Ichigo's in an overload, but not like what Ishida described, is what I've got. Then you lost me when Ishida started freaking out. Care to explain that?"

"My apologies, Kuchiki-san, Inoue-san. What we're trying to say here is that instead of following the examples Ishida-san presented, when Kurosaki-san overloads he retains the energy, even though it's more than his container can currently hold. And, like a hollow, when his reserves are not large enough to handle the energy currently in his possession, Kurosaki-san's reserves simply expand to contain the energy." I shiver as Urahara confirms what I guessed at when Kurosaki said "hollow." I watch as horror spreads across Kuchiki's face when she realizes the potential consequences of such an overload.

"Will he be alright? It looks like it hurts him." Inoue-san asks, oblivious to the results of such a capability.

"I'm fine. It just… strains my body. It's best… if I just… sleep through it. Don't worry, it's not… usually this… bad." Kurosaki explains. He tries to give her a comforting smile, though it looks more like a grimace.

"Well~, to be more accurate, you're usually more cautious and don't take in this much energy in one sitting. Whether it's a side effect from not being an actual hollow or just part of how it works for Kurosaki-san, he tends to get slower and, in a certain sense, lethargic when he's been overloaded."

"There's a limit, right? To how far his overload expansion can go?" Kuchiki questions, looking a bit anxious over the answer.

"Theoretically, yes. In actual application…" Urahara shrugs, "We've yet to see it. Theoretically, Kurosaki-san has an absolute limit to how high his level of power can go. Something that would usually take decades, centuries, possibly longer, to achieve. Because of that, it should be technically possible for Kurosaki-san to reach that level of power prematurely and then experience the more common place overloads because he simply can't hold any more power. And while that would be mildly interesting to test, it's not very practical since the forced expansions tend to leave Kurosaki-san with abysmal control over his power."

"I'll admit it was rather poor, but I'm not sure I'd call it abysmal. It took me a while to locate him the first time, so he has some control." I reason out. There's no way I was getting beaten by someone who can't even properly control their powers.

Urahara just laughs. "Tell me, did he actually manipulate flames when he attacked, or did he just use them to enhance his physical attacks? After you found him the first time, couldn't you find him without even really thinking about it afterwards? Kurosaki-san uses a very crude and basic control over his powers. Where others could make great constructs and elaborate traps for their enemies with Kurosaki-san's reserves, he just uses them in the most basic manners to guard and enhance his attacks. His method for hiding his presence relies on people not looking for him, like how you'll notice a large building in the city but not really think about it unless you need to go inside. He just hopes that because his presence is large enough to cover a wide area that people won't differentiate it from the high amounts of energy naturally found in Karakura. No, Kurosaki-san's control is terrible. Sometimes he gets it to a decent level, but then he pulls some stunt and goes through a forced expansion, setting him back to square one."

"Ummm, I hope you don't mind me asking." Inoue-san shyly begins. "But why is Kurosaki-kun's control ruined whenever his reserves expand?"

" 'Cause it's like… going from trying… to pour a thimble… of water… from a waterbottle… to trying to… pour it from… a large bucket. The same exact… techniques… won't work."

"You still haven't answered my question as to how it's possible for Kurosaki to even have that type of overload."

"That would be… because of… this." With those words Kurosaki reaches up to his chest and pulls out a small glass orb with a flickering golden flame nestled in it. I stare from him to the orb and back again. He seems to get my unspoken question and nods his head slightly. That's his _heart_. His _yokai heart_. The amount of trust he's placing in the people in this room, in me, is overwhelming. Any one of us could steal his heart and hold it ransom or break it and turn him into a hollow. Me, I'm the worst. As a Quincy, if I were to destroy a yokai heart it would skip the hollow phase and just kill him. He's presenting me with a one-shot kill and trusting that I won't take it. That unwarranted trust is both humbling and terrifying.

"That's your… " Kuchiki asks, flabbergasted as I am.

"Yeah. My heart." he softly confirms. We both shiver at the confirmation of what he's showing us.

"Why's it cracked?" Inoue-san softly asks. I blink in surprise and look closer. She's right, there's a slim crack running about a quarter of the way around the orb. That can't be good.

"We're not entirely sure. It could be a defect due to Kurosaki-san's hybrid nature. It's uncommon, but sometimes half breeds have such defects. The other possibility is that the loss of his mother left a crack in his heart and his humanity keeps him from fully progressing into a hollow. Before you ask, the reason I say the loss of Kurosaki-san's mother is because the crack has been present for as long as his powers have been awakened, which happened before he lost the rest of his family. It doesn't particularly matter how the crack came about at the moment, just that it exists. My theory is that because of this crack and the borderline hollow state it leaves Kurosaki-san in, he is able to go through overloads similar in nature to a hollow. If the crack could be healed, it's possible that Kurosaki-san would have the more standard overloads, but until that possibly happens, there's no way of knowing."Urahara explains as Kurosaki sinks the orb back into his chest. "And that's Kurosaki-san's condition. Now that's all explained you lay down and rest, Kurosaki-san. When you're actually feeling better, we'll check your growth."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry to… worry you guys." He says before practically flopping over into unconsciousness. Inoue-san scoots over and properly tucks him into the futon, wiping his bangs off of his sweaty forehead.

Urahara motions for us to get up and follow him. I suppose he doesn't want us in his shop any longer. He leads us out towards the front, but stops us all from leaving just yet. "There's one more thing I'd like the three of you to know. The crack in Kurosaki-san's heart grows and shrinks depending on his state of mind. When he lost his other family members that crack nearly connected and broke him. He's placed his trust in you and cares about you, so I'm asking that you look out for him and try not to get yourselves killed. He's suffered a lot already and I'm not sure if he'd survive going through something like that again." We all nod. It's hard to turn down such a serious request and, more than that, none of us want to see him become a feral monster, not even me.

"Thank you." It's sincere and softly spoken. We all file out of his shop, Kuchiki and Inoue-san head for the temple they call home and I turn to go to my apartment. I have a lot of thinking to do about what has happened today and what it means for the future.

* * *

As I sleep, I dream of the last time I had an overload this bad. Of the time I came the closest I've ever been to becoming a hollow. Of the day I was locked away for over one hundred years in the dark. The dreams torment me with memories of how I've failed. How I failed Kaa-san, Oyaji, Karin, and Yuzu. How I failed to bring down any of the monsters that killed them. In a moment of lucid thought, I make a promise.

_I won't fail to protect them this time._

* * *

A little more advertising here. I just began to beta for the lovely _AoNoBleachShoujo _starting with the two most recent chapters of _The Dark Side of the Blacker Moon. _It's a great story and I suggest you read it.

Also, I'm considering starting another story, so I might just start a first chapter previews story-thing and let you guys tell me which one to go with. Keep an eye out.

**Please leave a comment/review to tell me how I did.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note**

Took me awhile to get to writing this 'cause I wasn't sure where to go with it next, but I figured it out, a bit, and here it is.

Anywho, chapter 15, enjoy!

* * *

It's been three days since Kurosaki and I had our duel and I've somehow found myself at ABCookies looking to buy him a damn chocolate cake. I suppose it's not all bad, Inoue-san has come with me, or rather, she dragged me out here to buy one. I assume Kurosaki told her about the bet and probably played on her sympathy to convince her that I owed him the cake so she would take me to get him one. _Dirty, underhanded bastard_. I don't care if he's been confined to bed for these past days while he adjusts, it's _my_ money that he's ensuring is spent on this endeavor. I have to earn all my money myself, I refuse to take money from my father, even if he has some to spare as a hospital director. That man thinks me a disappointment and the sentiment is returned. He would rather see our traditions and abilities die out than train me, the bastard.

"Hmmm, what do you think of the ones with strawberries on it, Ishida-kun? Doesn't it look delicious?" Orihime asks, looking at the cake behind the counter with a hungry gleam in her eye.

"No."

Denying Inoue-san is best done like removing a band-aid: do it quick and ignore the stinging pain.

She pouts and I steel my resolve. That cake is 250 yen more than a plain chocolate cake and we don't need the strawberries to fulfill the bet.

"B-b-but… Kurosaki-kun said I could pick the cake!" she blubbers. "H-he said he trusted me to p-pick a good cake since I've h-had them before. The chocolate c-cake with strawberries is the b-best!"

Her teary eyes are steadily ripping apart my resolve to not spend extra cash unnecessarily. Her disappointed look tears at me and that resolve crumbles under its force. _God-damn cheating bastard, sending Inoue-san to enforce his selfish wish._ I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet as I approach the counter.

"The chocolate cake with strawberries on it. Please." I sigh, reaching into my wallet for the precious yen I'm being forced to spend on that idiot. Inoue-san's delighted smile makes it slightly better as the girl behind the counter carefully places the cake into a box for us to take. I pay the girl, take the box, and march out of the shop. I'm not spending a moment longer in there when Inoue-san might try to convince me to part with more cash for sweets we don't need. I hear her give a hasty thank you to the counter girl before trotting out after me. We head for the Urahara Shoten, walking in silence.

"Thank you for getting the cake with strawberries, Ishida-kun." she says with an honest smile. I just nod in return, trying to be a bit upset about the extra cash I won't be getting back, but I can't really place any of the blame on her. Oh well, Kurosaki could always use a little more blame.

We reach the Shoten and Inoue-san waves to the young girl sweeping in front of the door, asking how her day was before following me inside. She takes the lead, slipping into the back rooms and making a beeline for the room Kurosaki is in. He's wearing sweets and a t-shirt today and his back is towards us. I can see the flicker of flames over his shoulders as he tries to do something with them.

"Shouldn't you wait until you're not indoors where you can burn the place down, moron?"

He flinches and the flame before him swells, licking towards the ceiling, before disappearing completely. He lets lose a string of curses.

"Dammit, Ishida!" he shouts, turning around. "Do you want me to freaking burn the place down?" I stare at him, ready to question why he was even playing with fire indoors in the first place, when Inoue-san interrupts.

"Are you sure you should be using your powers yet, Kurosaki-kun?" Concern laces her tone, deflating both of us.

"Yeah, it's fine." he mutters as he rolls his shoulders. "Gotta start practicing again to adjust to my new power level. Besides, I don't really have anything better to do and Urahara-san doesn't mind as long as I don't burn the shop down. As long as I keep it small there's no problem."

I raise an eyebrow at that. He calls _that _small? The flame he was using had to be _at_ _least_ around the size of his torso, considering I could see it from behind his back. If that's small flames to him, I shudder to think of what he would call large. I'm almost glad our duel was interrupted, I rather like not being burned.

"Ishida-kun and me went and got you chocolate cake!" Orihime happily exclaims, once more oblivious to how frightening the power Kurosaki possesses is. "It even has strawberries on it!" She snatches the box from my hands, setting it on the floor and opening it to reveal its contents.

"That smells really good." Kurosaki says, a grin creeping onto his face. He reaches forward for it, but I slap is hand back. "Hey– !"

"You're supposed to cut cake into slices and eat it with a fork, moron." He just glares at me, grumpy for being denied the cake.

"Oh, right!" Inoue-san exclaims. "I'll get some plates, forks, and a knife so we can all enjoy the cake!" She scurries off before either of us can object with a smile on her face. I see Kurosaki eyeing the cake out of the corner of my eye.

"Don't even think about it, idiot. Just wait patiently for her to come back." He shoots me another glare.

Inoue-san quickly returns and carefully cuts up the cake and serves it. Kurosaki picks up the fork and takes a bite. His eyes widen and a large, boyish grin spreads across his face.

"This is really delicious! Thanks, Inoue, Ishida." Then he devours the piece of cake. Inoue-san just giggles at his eagerness and even I had to admit it looked rather funny. He quickly reaches for another piece and starts to scarf that one down too. I doubt there will be any cake left. Somehow, eating cake with Inoue-san and this yokai half breed is enjoyable. It somehow makes me the happiest I've been since sensei died and I can't bring myself to care that one of the Quincy's sworn enemies is helping me feel this way. _Well, maybe not an enemy. He _is_ half Quincy._

"Ne, Kurosaki-kun?" He hums in reply. "Could… could you maybe tell a-a story about the zanpakuto? I was kind of curious about them since Urahara-san mentioned that your family helped make them." She twiddles her fingers, keeping her eyes on her hands in her lap, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

"Sure. This is the story of the first zanpakuto…

_Over a thousand years ago, in a time when yokai walked freely and man feared their power, there were but a few who would stand to fight them. These men served their king, called Reio for he was said to be blessed by the spirits with many great powers. They would hunt and kill all yokai at his command, never questioning the nature of the monsters they fought. Until one day, a young hunter apprentice named Yamamoto Shigekuni caught a phoenix in a rabbit's snare._

_The young man was surprised to see such a beautiful creature caught in his snare and saddened too, for the plight of the poor creature. The phoenix is the immortal bird, they can only be killed by the complete annihilation of their heart. It would struggle as the rope around its neck strangled the great bird only to die of suffocation and be renewed by its eternal flames to suffer the same death once more. To watch such a cruel fate befall the bird again and again was heartrending and the young man could not stand the torture inflicted upon the yokai. He was a noble minded young man who would hunt yokai as his king commanded, but would not torture them as he carried out this duty, unlike many of the others, so carefully moving forward, he cut the rope around its neck and set the phoenix free of the snare._

_The bird fell limply at his feet, too drained to do anything after being reborn so many times. Yamamoto knew not what to do, for he had just spared this yokai and if he left it here another creature would surely devour it. He looked at the once magnificent creature laying at his feet, looking so pitiful, still pondering what he should do._

_"__Help me, please." a soft voice, like the tinkling of bells, begged him._

_Yamamoto started in surprise at the sound of the voice and looked around, calling out, "Who's there?"_

_"__Please, help me! I'm right here!"_

_He looked around once more, his eyes landing on the phoenix at his feet. He then noticed its eyes, soft, pleading, and intelligent. Yamamoto then realized that the phoenix he had freed was asking him for help. Not knowing what else to do, he carefully scooped up the bird and took it to the hut he lived in to nurse it back to health._

_At the end of the month the phoenix was healed and, in the dark of night, Yamamoto set it free back into the forest. Several years passed, and Yamamoto became one of the Reio's most prized hunters. He was considered one of the greatest and most noble of the hunters for he never let a civilian die when he hunted. At that time, another young man had started his rise in the ranks, not far behind Yamamoto, who was said to possess mystical powers, named Yhwach._

_One day, Yamamoto and Yhwach were sent with a group to hunt a great oni. They believed that it would be no problem, for they had hunted oni before, but they were wrong. The oni was far more powerful than any other they had encountered and it overpowered them. They were forced to retreat, but as they did so, the oni struck a terrible blow on Yamamoto. His companions left him for dead in order to preserve their own lives. _

_"__See how your companions run, little hunter? They have no loyality, no honor! They just hunt and kill. See how little they value your life?" the oni laughed and sneered at the downed man. "I'll leave you here to suffer as you die, knowing that they didn't care enough to save you." And so the oni left him there to bleed and die._

_Yamamoto lay there in the dirt, both hating and understanding why they had left him. He cursed his fate to die like this, leaving the oni alive to attack more innocent people. He cursed the uncaring hunters. And he cursed how powerless humans were against the yokai, even as the darkness claimed him._

_When he awoke, he felt indescribably warm and was confused as to how he was alive. When he looked around, he noticed on his arm there was perched a phoenix, the phoenix he saved all those years ago. _

_"__Get out of here! If the others come back for my body and see you, they'll kill you!" he shouted as he waved his arm, trying to dislodge the bird. Yamamoto had come to like the phoenix in the time that he had cared for it and did not want to see it killed._

_"__Stop it, you fool! If I cease to make contact with you, you'll die!" Yamamoto stopped moving as the words sunk in. "I found you still just barely alive, so I used my power to keep you alive. However, you are too far gone for a simple healing, so I must continually lend you my strength or you will die."_

_Yamamoto looked at the bird, amazed by its selfless act and what it was willing to give up to save his life. "Then, where shall we go? I cannot return to the humans, for they would hunt you, and you cannot go back to the yokai, for they would hunt me."_

_The phoenix laughed at his statement. "Don't be so sure of all yokai, my friend. I know of several who wouldn't try to hurt you for being human, for they are too fond of watching and studying humans to give up a chance like this. No, we will go to them and you can learn what it means to be yokai as we learn what it is to be human."_

_So they left to live with the Shihoin and Shiba clans of yokai. Yamamoto learned much of yokai culture and how those they hunted for attacking villages were often outcasts, unwanted in proper yokai society. The Shihoin and Shiba learned how to act human so that they might trade their wares for the things they could not make. Soon the Shihoin were famous for their performances with tamed animals and acrobats and the Shiba for their metalwork, glass, and fireworks. They only ever went to outskirts and trading towns where they could avoid the presence of hunters, for they might see through their disguise or recognize Yamamoto._

_One day, the hunters in the capital city were in the market when they noticed some extraordinary metal work at one of the stalls. When they asked where it had come from, the man told them he had bought it at one of the trading towns on the outskirts of the kingdom. Wondering who could craft such fine metal and wanting to hire them for hunter purposes, the commander of the hunters had a small group sent to the town to find the source, headed by none other than Yhwach. When they reached the town, they found a store selling the metal ware and some finely made glass. The man owning the shop told them that it was made by a clan of craftsmen known as the Shiba. He also told them how the Shiba made incredible firework shows for festivals and holidays. Highly interested in the skill of these craftsmen, Yhwach asked where they could be found. The man didn't know, they just came to town selling goods, took requests, then disappeared. Sometimes they would come with the Shihoin clan who would put on amazing shows, especially for festivals. The hunters still wanted to find the Shiba, so they asked around the whole town. No one knew where they came from. According to the townsfolk, they just appeared sometime before first light on the outskirts of town, stayed a couple of days, then disappeared into the night once more. Some of the children said they saw big shadows in the Shiba camp while they stayed, others said that they saw the people fly away at night._

_Disturbed, the hunters visited a couple of other nearby towns and found similar information. They all said that the Shiba would arrive unexpectedly to sell, trade, and do some work all for surprisingly low prices. So with no further leads, the hunters returned to the first town, only to find the elusive clan already settled on the outskirts of town. There were many booths set up with all kinds of metal and glass work with people flocking around them. On the edge of the camp, children watched a few performers and played with small fireworks that some of the clansmen brought._

_Yhwach demanded a meeting with the group's leader and asked that the clan work for the hunters. The man laughed and told him that they did not forge metal to end lives, but to serve hands in making a better world. Yhwach was angered by these words and asked how not killing a yokai would make the world better. The man asked him how he would know it did not when they weren't given a chance. "Just because the dog can bite doesn't mean it's a bad dog." he told Yhwach. Yhwach made many offers to the man, hoping to change his mind, but no matter the riches or titles offered, he was refused. He even tried threatening the man, but the man did not flinch and told him that violence would win him no support._

_Infuriated at the man's continued refusal to work for the hunters, Yhwach left. As Yhwach left the man's tent, he saw Yamamoto with a great bird perched upon his shoulder walking through the camp. Hardly believing his eyes, he looked harder and stretched out the sixth sense he had learned he possessed before recoiling in shock. The camp was filled with yokai! Confused he looked about, but all he saw where humans and tamed animals. He left the camp and posted men to watch for their departure so that they might follow the Shiba to wherever they came from. He was determined to learn the truth about the Shiba and Yamamoto._

_That night, the sentries reported a great shifting in the camp before the Shiba left under the cover of a heavy fog that had rolled in that evening. They also said that they had seen figures through the fog that had not looked human and heard quiet, wild calls as they moved away. The hunters carefully followed after them and, in the light of the morning, they saw the true forms of the Shiba. The whole group was made of yokai and Yhwach could see Yamamoto walking among them. A great fury took hold of him and his hunters upon seeing so many yokai that had been able to fool them into thinking that they were human._

_The hunters charged the camp, taking the yokai by surprise and killing them. Many of them fled the attack, while Yamamoto and some of the others tried to hold them off. Once the yokai were away, the defenders made their retreat. As they fled, Yhwach shot the phoenix on Yamamoto's shoulder in the heart with a special arrow made of reishi, wounding it terribly. _

_Once they reached the Shiba and Shihoin compound, Yamamoto and the phoenix collapsed, for Yamamoto couldn't live without the phoenix and its heart had been shattered by Yhawach's arrow. The Shiba and Shihoin didn't want to see either die, so they pooled the Shihoin's knowledge of shapeshifting and posssession with the Shiba's knowledge of the heart and metal working to bind the phoenix's heart together in a blade and bind the blade to Yamamoto. Thus the first shinigami and zanpakuto were born. _

_They then discovered the changes wrought in Yamamoto and Ryujin Jakka, the name the phoenix decided to take after the binding. Yamamoto realized that if the yokai and hunters worked together like this that they could achieve peace and maintain a balance between the two peoples, so he went alone to the capital to seek an audience with Reio._

_After some time, Yamamoto got his audience with Reio thanks to the help of the Kuchiki, Aomori, and Umetatsu clans and told him all about what he had learned about the yokai in the past years that he had spent among them. He also showed Reio the magnificent power that he had acquired through his partnership with the yokai. _

_After many talks between Reio and all the clans involved in bringing the shinigami into existence and to him, an agreement was come upon to create an alliance between the peaceful yokai and the people, thus the Gotei 13 and shinigami were created to protect and maintain this balance._

_ "_It is said that Yhwach was so opposed to the idea of shinigami that he took the hunters loyal to his ideal and left to make his own kingdom, Vandenreich. They fought many times with the Gotei 13 until they finally reached a mutual non-violence pact against each other, though there's still plenty of prejudice between the two." Kurosaki finishes. I have to admit, his version of the story is very different from what I'd read in the old books on Quincy techniques and history.

"Xcution is a bit more recent since fullbring was only acknowledged in the last two hundred years." Kurosaki continues. "So that's why they're not in the story, in case you were wondering."

"Thank you for the story, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime quietly says. She seems to notice her watch as she looks at her hands folded in her lap. "AH! It's already so late!" She scrambles to her feet, dashing for the door. "Sorry, I have to get back to the temple. I'll see you tomorrow! Bye Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun!" She slips out of the door, feet pattering over the floors as she makes her escape.

"Well, I think I'll take my leave. Thank you for the story, Kurosaki." I unfold myself from the floor, turning and heading for the door. I can hear the clink of the plates and silverware as he picks up after us. He coughs quietly.

"Ummm… Thanks for the cake, Ishida." he mumbles and I can hear the bit of embarrassment in his voice.

"Hmph, just don't expect me to do it again." And with that comment I leave.

I look up at the sky as I walk home, wondering just how much I really know of yokai, of anything of this supernatural world I work in. How biased are our old texts? How much of the truth has been bent to make them look like the bad guys? The questioning of all that I've known won't leave me. When I try to find the source of these questions, my mind produces the images of Kurosaki's cracked heart being presented before us, his happy smile at something as simple as having chocolate cake, and Urahara's request: _I'm asking that you look out for him and try not to get yourselves killed. He's suffered a lot already and I'm not sure if he'd survive going through something like that again. _When did I begin to care about that idiot?

I shake my head. There's not much use in worrying about it now, what's done is done. I've decided: I'll see what this world has to offer and make my own judgments and decisions, because all is not as it seems.

* * *

"So, have you gathered the information I asked for from three days ago?" a smooth, velvet voice asks.

"Yes, sir." comes the monotone reply. "The hollow, Leon Fuego, was defeated by two opponents: Ishida Uryu, a Quincy, and Kurosaki Ichigo, a fire class yokai, true form unknown."

"Oh? It seems Urahara's favorite pawn has been released, how… _troublesome_." And it truly was to the lord. Kurosaki Ichigo had been a strong wildcard back when he walked free and Urahara had been able to employ the boy's nature to impede his plans. He even used the boy to upset his deception of the Gotei 13, leading to having to reveal himself sooner than he liked. He thought he had properly dealt with the problem when he had the boy's remaining family murdered one at a time, resulting in the boy's declining sanity and sealing for life, but it seemed that someone had decided to release him anyway and he had recovered from the mental blows enough to be found useful again.

"Have you gathered further information on Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asks.

"No sir, but I shall start right away if you wish."

"Then do so. I will not allow Urahara Kisuke to upset my plans anymore. He will certainly try employ that boy, so we'll remove him from Urahara's control before he can cause any trouble. Now go."

"Hai, Aizen-sama." The man bows before departing from his presence.

_I shall break you Kurosaki Ichigo. You shall fall and become my pawn._

* * *

So I've had the first zanpakuto story written for like three or four chapters because I knew I wanted to tell it, but I wasn't sure when until I started this chapter and realized that it'd be perfect for this.

Now here's the problem, I'm not sure what exactly to do next with this. I mean I have a few scene ideas, but no clue exactly how to put them in. So here's the deal: I'd appreciate hearing some ideas from you lovely readers for this. Hopefully something you say will inspire me, or the books I'll likely be reading on my little camping trip will inspire me.

Sorry for those who were hoping for my fast paced updates on this, like I said earlier, I'm at a bit of a loss on where I'm going with this. I've also been working on my idea dump, so check it out and let me know which one you want to see most because I would like to start a second fic to get ideas bouncing in my head some more.

**Please comment/review to tell me how I did.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note**

I think my muse must have a second home where there is no internet. I went for a little trip this weekend with a long car ride and no internet and got several ideas for this story. Thanks to the two, three-ish, of you who did submit ideas, I'll think about using them. For those of you who liked it, it's the return of cat Ichigo!

Anywho, chapter 16, enjoy!

* * *

I wait on the corner of the street for Tatsuki-chan to come so we can head to school together. We've been doing this since the day after she got back and as much as I love my friends from the temple, I really like walking to school with Tatsuki-chan. But she's running late today it seems and I let out a little sigh.

"Why so glum?"

I whirl around, craning my neck to try and see further down the street. That was Kurosaki-kun's voice! I keep looking but can't see him. I hear him sigh a little.

"Up here. To your left. Your _other _left." I look and there's a large orange cat lazing on the wall above where I've been waiting. He's looking down at me and seems a little amused, tail idly flicking against the wall. I tilt my head as I study his form.

"I think you've gotten bigger, Kurosaki-kun." He sputters at my observation, sitting up and tail lashing around.

"No I haven't! You're just seeing things." I can't help but giggle at his denials. It's not like I said he'd gotten fat or that being bigger was bad. He seems to settle down a bit, though he's not looking at me so I guess he's still a little annoyed. "And you never answered my question. What's got you sighing?"

"Oh, umm, well you see, I wait here in the mornings for Tatsuki-chan so we can walk to school together, but it seems she's running a little late today." I frown a little bit. It's not like Tatsuki-chan to be running late, that's usually me, distracted by my day dreams.

"School, huh?" And something in his tone gives me a bad feeling, but before I can try to figure out what that means, Tatsuki-chan comes running up.

"Sorry I'm late. My mom needed some help finding her keys." she pants out, leaning against the wall a bit. "Alright, let's get going."

We walk off and I notice out of the corner of my eye that Kurosaki-kun is following us. Tatsuki-chan doesn't seem to notice, but I don't really hold out hope on that, Kurosaki-kun is pretty noticeable, even as a cat. I chat happily with Tatsuki-chan like I normally do, but can't keep my eyes from flickering to him every now and then. How long does he plan on following me?

We get halfway to school before Tatsuki says anything. "So where'd you get the monster cat from?" I jump a bit at the sudden change in subject. "I mean, I noticed it when I met up with you and it's been following us this whole time. So what gives?"

"Ummm… w-well you see…" I need to think up a good excuse. I can't tell her that he's a powerful yokai that I'm friends with who has randomly decided to follow me around to day. "He's… he's a stray that comes to the temple sometimes!" I exclaim. That works. It's not exactly a lie, Kurosaki-kun has come to the temple as a cat and he comes and goes from the shrine on temple grounds. So not a lie and something I can tell Tatsuki. I can do this! "I don't know where he's from, but he's really nice. I guess he's taken a liking to me, but I'm not sure why he's following me today. Oh, and his name is Kurosaki-kun!"

"Kurosaki, huh? You know I haven't seen a speck of black on him, so why Kurosaki?" she says as she looks him over. He hops down from the wall to walk alongside us.

"I don't know, it's just his name." I say with a smile, hoping she won't question it any further. She doesn't and we go back to our usual morning talk, Kurosaki-kun trotting along beside us. Soon enough we're approaching the gates to school and he's still following us. _How long does he plan to follow me?_ He can't come to school with me! I'll get in so much trouble for bringing a cat to school.

However, before I can worry any further, a pair of arms grab me from behind, squeezing my chest, with a crooned "Hime~~!" I stiffen, mind processing an assault and trying to pick a response from all the self-defense Tatsuki's taught me, but with a squeal the arms release me and I look to Tatsuki, expecting to see her holding whatever limb she used to knock off Chizuru-chan, who I realized had grabbed me like she always does, hanging in the air. Surprisingly, she's not. Instead she's looking down while Chizuru-chan is hopping on one leg, holding her right shin. I follow Tatsuki's gaze to see a rather annoyed looking Kurosaki-kun sitting beside me, tail flicking angrily behind him as he stares at Chizuru-chan.

"Well, what do you know? He's a guard cat. You should keep him, Orihime." Tatsuki-chan says, sounding rather impressed. "You could use the extra protection from _certain individuals._"

"How could you say that?!" Chizuru-chan screeches. "She doesn't need that monster cat! My sweet Hime will be perfectly safe in my ar–" She's cut off by a swift kick to the gut from Tatsuki-chan.

"That's enough out of you. Come on, Orihime. We need to get to class." I quickly scoop up Kurosaki-kun, I don't trust the way he's eyeing Chizuru-chan, and scurry after Tatsuki-chan, dropping a quick apology to Chizuru-chan.

In the shoe lockers, I put Kurosaki-kun down. "Sorry, you can't come to class with me, Kurosaki-kun. You'll just have to go wherever you do during the day." I say, nudging him towards the outside. He take a few steps before turning back to give me a slightly annoyed look before trotting off.

* * *

She can't seriously believe that I'd leave her alone that easily after taking all the time to follow her already this morning, can she? I'm bored at the Shoten. I've recovered from the strain of the Overload and there's nothing to really do there until Urahara gets the supplies I requested. Besides, I'm curious as to what school is like and I intend to find out. _Room 2-3… 2-3… 2-3…_

* * *

I walk to the classroom door, only to find it blocked by several girls. I clear my throat and they start a little before clearing a pathway through. I walk in and place my bag on my desk before noticing what it was that was captivating the girls earlier.

There's a very large orange cat laying across Inoue-san's desk.

Cats are not normally so large or orange. Looking ridiculously smug, on the other hand, is part of being a cat. I quickly check my theory and must hold back from groaning. Kurosaki has decided to attend class, in a _very_ obvious way. I do a quick search and find Inoue-san heading to the classroom. With this knowledge, I theorize that Inoue-san is unaware of Kurosaki's current location. My theory is proved correct when she freezes in the doorway, staring at the smug Kurosaki covering her desk.

* * *

I can't believe my eyes. Kurosaki-kun is laying sprawled across _my_ desk. How did he even know which classroom was mine, much less which desk? He's giving me a smug cat grin from across the room, taunting me with his knowledge of where to go even when I dismissed him. I let loose a little whine, Tatsuki-chan just laughs.

"Looks like he doesn't want to leave you alone." I give her a distressed look. Doesn't she see how much trouble I could get into for this? "Hey, don't worry. He followed you in on his own, there's not much the teachers can do about it besides taking him outside. They can't blame you for being followed by a cat." I smile some at her reassurance. She's right, they can't blame me for Kurosaki-kun's choices, I think. "Though I've gotta admit, he's one damn smart cat." She doesn't know the half of it.

I don't have time to worry any further as the bell rings, sending everyone to their seats and bringing Ochi-sensei into the room. I fret as Kurosaki-kun adjusts himself on my desk. Ochi-sensei spots him and heads for my desk. _Just what kind of trouble has Kurosaki-kun gotten me into?_

"What a large cat! Is he yours, Inoue-san?" she asks, scratching between his ears, causing him to begin purring. "So friendly."

"Ummm, he's no-not mine. He just f-followed me in." I squeak out.

"Hmmm. Well, as long as he doesn't cause any trouble I suppose he can stay." Ochi-sensei announces, returning to her desk. Tatsuki-chan shoots me a smug grin, rubbing in the fact she knew I wouldn't get in trouble.

Kurosaki-kun scoots over to lay on the left edge of my desk, idly flicking tail hanging off the end. I breathe a little sigh of relief, he'll let me have the use of my desk. We both turn our heads up as Ochi-sensei begins the lesson.

I suppose school is alright, though personally I find such a learning style rather boring. I much more prefer a hands-on experience. I think it makes lessons stick better, especially when you mess up. Not that my opinion really matters here considering I don't actually attend school. I think I'll leave at the lunch break, I've had enough of school, even though I very much enjoyed the absent minded petting Inoue gave me.

When the bell rings and students start filing out of the room, I whisper a quick good-bye, hop off of Inoue's desk, and dart out of the room. I'm almost to the gates when large hands scoop me up from behind. I squirm as I'm taken away from the gate and back behind the gym, but the hands are firm and large enough that the larger size of my cat form doesn't help me.

"Please stop squirming… Yokai-san." the deep voice of my captor intones. I stop squirming, not because he asked, but because he surprised me by knowing what I am.

Once we're out of sight of others, he turns me around in his hands and I get my first look at my captor. He's very tall, but I guessed his large size from his hands. His dark brown hair hangs in a shaggy curtain, covering his eyes, making them hard to see. He has a small goatee and defined high cheek bones. Though the thing that stands out most besides his size is his darkened skin. I recognize him from the temple, he works with Inoue there sometimes. I think his name is… Chad? Yeah, I think that's it.

"So what did you want with me, Chad?"

He blinks at me. I guess he was surprised I knew his name. "My name's not Chad, it's Sado Yasutora." He calmly replies back.

"You sure?" I cock my head to the side and he stares at me blankly. "I thought Inoue said it was Chad. Sorry, I'm bad with names. You know you never answered my question."

"Mmm. You were after Inoue-san specifically. As her friend, I need to make sure she's not endangered by you." he calmly replies. "Why were you after her?"

I blink. I hadn't expected that. I kind of figured he'd be like Ishida and just demand me to go away. "She's told me about her time at school and I was curious, so I came to check it out. No harm intended. Just trying to kill some free time and learn more about her."

He stares at me for a while. I begin to feel nervous under his stare. What the hell is he looking for? Does he think if he keeps staring at me it'll change my answer? His stare is actually starting to annoy me and my tail starts to flick in annoyance.

"You're the sealed yokai she would visit."

I blink. How the _hell _did he know that? Inoue always visited on her own. No one has come to meet me at the old seal besides her, Yoruichi, Ishida, and Rukia. Maybe Rukia told him. "So?" I venomously ask. "How'd you know about that anyways?"

He stays silent for a while, and right when I think he's not going to answer, he does. "I noticed her leaving down the trail. Multiple times. You also spoke as if she talked to you often." he reasons. I nod my head. His silence hides his observative nature.

"You won't hurt her?" he asks in a serious tone. I bristle at that question. He dares insinuate that _I _would hurt _her_? The one person who'd shown me kindness in over one hundred years? I slightly dig my claws into his large, dark hands.

"_Like __**hell**__ I would hurt __**her**__._" I growl out, my more beastly side barely contained. Keeping my flames in check is _hard_ and I'm sure that some flames flickered over my skin and that I'm emitting a lot of heat. Hell, I can barely keep myself confined to my cat form. And I can't bring myself to care, that question pisses me off so bad.

He stares at me, my claws digging into his skin, growl in my throat, and tail lashing angrily. "Ok. Sorry, but I had to ask." Slightly mollified, I withdraw my claws, though I continue to glare at him while my tail continues to lash. He sets me down and I stare up at him. It ticks me off that to have to stare so far up, I'd have to stare up in my human form and I'm not exactly short.

"So you intend to protect her?" I nod. "Then be careful…" I realize that he doesn't know my name.

"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo." He hums in acknowledgement and nods his head to me. I turn and leave, trotting out of the school gates. I head for the Shoten, wondering if Urahara has got my gear yet.

* * *

I was surprised when Kurosaki-san asked me to get some replacements for his old gear. I thought he had given up his trade after his family's death. It seems Inoue-san has revitalized him in more ways than one. I'll happily supply materials for him, people with his skills are rare and we _need_ people with his skills.

I only hope he hasn't forgotten what he's learned, there's really no one else left to teach him

* * *

So there's the chapter and the first meeting between Ichigo and Chad. I hope you guys think I did alright with Chad. As I wrote this, I realized Chad's kind of a hard character to do outside of his friendship with Ichigo because he doesn't talk to terribly much, so because it's manga you don't get a lot of insight to his thinking process.

**Please review/comment to tell me how I did.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note**

Okay, I got back to this. I'll try and get this updated at least once a week, but I make no promises because my muse is a silly thing that likes to come up with scenes that I have to make tie-ins for first but then refuses to cough up the tie-ins without a fight. Or it goes on a story shot rampage. Stupid muse.

Anywho, chapter 17, enjoy!

* * *

It was on a whim that I decided to have a sparring match with Kurosaki. I've acknowledged that in terms of raw power, possibly experience too, he outclasses me, so I figured sparring with him would help me improve. There's also the fact that I haven't had anyone to spar with for years that helped me make this decision. Having convinced myself to do this, I made my way to Urahara Shoten. He seems to have moved from the shrine to live there since the overload a week ago. I was slightly surprised when Urahara-san just let me in and pointed me to the training grounds Kurosaki was using. I found Kurosaki down there with a large ring of maybe two dozen beach ball sized fireballs rotating around him. The flames alternated between the bright blue and the black tinged red flames I've seen him wield. His back was to me and he held his arms out to the sides, away from his body. I watched, trying to figure out the exercise, as he tilted his arms, the rotating ring of flames tilting with them. After tilting the ring some, he slowly brought his arms in, the circle slowly transitioning into a figure eight. About halfway through the transition, a small whumph could be heard as all the blue flames turned to black and Kurosaki let out a small curse. When the transition of shape was near completion, the fireballs started to swell, mixing with one another and making a stream of fire. Kurosaki lets lose a string of curses as he struggles to separate them into fireballs once more, but to no avail. Finally, he gives up and extinguishes the flames, sitting on the dusty ground, panting. I silently contemplate what I've seen. From what I could tell from our duel, the blue flames are weaker than the black flames, combined with the swelling fireballs near the end leaves me to conclude that he struggles with creating lower level constructs because he has too much power to add while also struggling with using higher amounts of power because he never got to learn proper control at a lower level. I shake my head as I walk forward. It really is no wonder he has control issues when you take into account his forced exponential growth rate.

"Tired already, Kurosaki?" I ask, causing him to turn around. It's just after ten, so he shouldn't have been working at this too long.

A smug grin splits his face. "You wish, Ishida. I'm just taking a breather." I notice that his pants are already almost gone and I conclude it was the focus that was required that was tiring him, not the actually reiatsu use.

"Then if you're not tired, you won't mind sparring with me." I reply, creating my silver bow and taking a ready stance. His grin widens as he pushes up to his feet.

"Not at all. Geta-boshi's not a bad sparring partner, but it'll be good to switch it up." He says as he stretches before sinking into his own ready position, black blade materializing in his hand.

"Let's go."

It's a very different fight from the duel on the riverside. Kurosaki doesn't try to overheat me this time, allowing for a more drawn out match and more maneuvering. We clash up and down the training ground and I use the rocky terrain and easily stirred up dust to my advantage to catch him in blind spots and create traps. He is also trying more complex attacks with his flames, changing from his constant charges to attempts to match my longer range to a certain degree. I revel in the challenge I can finally introduce to my training. I haven't had any sparring matches since my grandfather passed and forgot just how effective they are for training. It probably would have been even more satisfying if he didn't just tank all of my attacks when I did get my hits in, but I won't complain too much about it.

I must admit that I'm rather surprised by his level of skill. Not only does he have the physical capabilities that I saw in our duel, but a rather good head for fighting in general. I can only catch him by surprise with a maneuver a couple of times before he's adjusted to it and capable of minimizing the damage, if not outright escaping the attack. His learning curve for physical battle is simply amazing, not that I will ever tell him that. However, it is painfully obvious that he lacks any refined control over his powers and any good strategist like myself will be quick to capitalize on that. It also becomes clear as I pick at his lack of control that he doesn't have a very sharp reiatsu sense. He instead makes up for it with his enhanced physical senses and a very sharp instinct to pick up on killing intent.

The match swings back and forth in favor between the two of us, but I can tell that it's only because Kurosaki isn't trying to overwhelm me with brute force, instead focusing on learning what he can from the match. It pisses me off that he could take control of this match if he wanted, but I suppose facing the possibility of such overwhelming strength is part of the appeal of sparring him.

The third match comes to an end with my victory. I was able to trick and outmaneuver him, getting myself set up with an arrow to the back of his head. We both flop to the ground, panting and exhausted, yet satisfied with the good matches. A minute later, Tessai-san brings bentos and drinks down to us and we both thank him, happily tucking in to the provided meal.

"You're pretty good, Ishida." He says after a while of eating in silence. "If we both had the same amount of power, you'd probably kick my ass every time with all those plots and traps." I silently bask in that acknowledgement. It may not be exactly what I was looking for, but it's fairly close.

"Hmph. I still beat you, even with our power difference." I point out. He just chuckles. "Brute force won't always give you victory, Kurosaki. As you saw, a good tactician can overcome a brute." He scowls a bit at that, but I'm sure he gets the point. _Use your head, it has a purpose_.

"Yeah, yeah. I still beat you two times outta three." He grumbles. I roll my eyes at his stubborn nature. We lapse back into silence, but it is a companionable silence. I hadn't really thought of it much until now, but my lack of friends tends to leave me lonely at lunch time. It's a rather nice change of pace to have someone else around, even if it is this moron. We finish the bentos and set them down at the base of the ladder.

"Ready for round four, Ishida?" Kurosaki taunts, blade in hand.

"Are you, Kurosaki?" I reply, bow materialized. He just grins and we charge into the fray once more.

* * *

It's the weekend after Kurosaki-kun got overloaded and he has been stopping by almost every day since he followed me to school. He just comes and finds me in the garden while in his cat form and follows me around for a while. Sometimes we chat if there's no one around to see a "talking cat." I know some of the others who work at the temple have seen Kurosaki-kun as a cat, but they haven't tried anything, so I don't think they realize that he's not a normal cat. Rukia-chan said that she attacked us the first time because she thought Kurosaki-kun would try to hurt people unprovoked, so if the others aren't attacking they must not think he's a problem. Rangiku-san actually picked him up and cuddled him on his first visit, but I don't think he liked it very much. She said she wouldn't tell Kuchiki-sama about him being here, but I'm fairly certain she meant that she wouldn't tell him that a cat had taken residence here. He hates cats. I don't know why he does, but Kurosaki-kun says he probably had some bad experiences with Yoruichi-san. I'm glad that he seems to be doing better now. I haven't seen him yet today, but I suppose he's busy with whatever it is that he does.

Sado-kun is took me out to a café to talk about something. He didn't say what when he asked, but I wasn't going to turn down a friend's request. I hoped that nothing was wrong. He didn't say anything until after we'd ordered our lunches. I was surprised when he told me that he knew about Kurosaki-kun. Apparently he had figured it out when Kurosaki-kun had come to school and had decided after confronting him that he would keep his escape a secret as a long as he didn't cause trouble. He said that they'd also talked some more over the past few days and he didn't think that we'd encounter any problems. I was relieved that he was willing to give Kurosaki-kun a chance. It was also nice to know I had someone else that I could go to for yokai problems. Sado-kun is a good friend.

We were taking a short-cut through one of the parks to get back to the temple when the air ahead of us rippled and broke open, like someone had cut a hole in the air. A masked, armadillo-like monster came lumbering out of the hole and I realized that this was another one of those hollow creatures. Sado-kun took up a position in front of me, his arms transforming. Even though I was scared of the hollow coming our way, I still had enough time to think Sado-kun's arms looked really cool. His left arm was white with a red stripe running down it. There was also a red tipped spike coming out of his shoulder. His right arm was black with red patterning on it and the forearm was shaped like a shield. The hollow looked toward us and roared before charging.

"Get back." Sado-kun orders, sinking into a fighting position. I quickly move back the way we've come, but I keep both Sado-kun and the hollow in sight. I can't help but hold my hands close to my chest, hoping that he'll be able to handle this hollow on his own because I know that there is little, if anything, that I can do to help him against such a monster.

The hollow is almost upon Sado-kun when he cocks back his left fist and punches it in the head, sending it tumbling back. The hollow rolls before regaining its feet, snarling before slamming a paw to the ground causing the earth to ripple as it rises up in a wave headed for Sado-kun. He brings back his right fist and punches forward, roaring "El Directo!" bright light flying off his fist and impacting with the wave of earth, breaking it apart. Sado-kun quickly charges in after his attack, punching with his left fist once more, only to hit the armored hide of the hollow's foreleg. The foreleg buckles in and cracks are left in its armor as Sado-kun pulls back before ducking in again, blocking a swipe from the hollow's other paw with his shielded right arm as he upper cuts it with his left fist. The hollow goes flying up, landing on its back, legs flailing in the air. Sado-kun walks around to its head, pulling back his left fist and I can see energy gathering around his hand. He calmly punches down on the hollow's head, finishing it off.

He turns to me and gives me a thumbs up and I can't help but feel relieved that everything's alright. I smile at him and start towards him. My worry seems needless now. Sado-kun is strong, he can handle himself. Feeling reassured, I'm about halfway to him when things go wrong.

"LOOK OUT, SADO-KUN!"

Sado-kun turns to look around and is blindsided by another hollow, getting knocked away. I scream his name once more, running towards him now to try and do what I can to help him. Unfortunately, what I do achieve is getting the hollow's attention. I scramble to turn around and escape from the charging hollow, tripping after I finally get a few steps in the other direction. I roll over, just barely slipping past the claws that come down where I was laying. I have no time to move as it strikes down with the other hand, so I close my eyes, waiting for the strike to come. It never does. I open my eyes to find Sado-kun braced before me, right arm holding off the hollow's claws. I can see the blood dripping down the side of his face and I let out a small whimper for his pain and our predicament. With a yell, he pushes the hollow's arm up, twirling around, grabbing me by the waist and running us both out of the hollow's range.

"We're retreating." Sado-kun says. I just nod my head as he continues racing forward. I honestly hope we can escape this hollow because, from what I can tell, that blow that Sado-kun took to the head is causing him some trouble. Sado-kun checks back over his shoulder, then suddenly throws me forward, whirling around to take an overhead strike on his right arm shield, getting knocked to the ground, but managing to get a punch in to its jaw. The hollow howls, moving back and clawing at its face and broken teeth. I scramble up and move to grab Sado-kun and drag him out of range of the hollow. I grab his arm and start to drag, but Sado-kun is _heavy_ and I've barely moved him when the hollow has recovered. It advances on us and I tug at Sado-kun's arm, still trying to desperately get us out of the way. I fall over, losing grip of his arm and stare up as it raises its clawed hand in preparation to strike. I feel the dread and inevitability of the strike sink into me as the claws descend, closing my eyes at the last moment.

"You can open your eyes, Inoue."

I look up and he's standing there, holding back death with a slim black blade. I can feel the relief flooding through me. We're saved. He'll take care of everything.

"Kurosaki-kun." He just grins at me before turning back to the hollow.

"You messed with the wrong people, bastard. Now you've got to deal with me." he growls, swinging a smaller blade that I hadn't noticed him holding in his left hand, severing the hollow's hand. The hollow pulls back once more, screeching in pain. "Take care of Chad, Inoue. I've got this bastard." He says before charging at the hollow, blades carving arcs of black flame. I'm confused for a moment as to who he's referring to until I realize that it's a butchered version of Sado-kun's name. I crawl forward and check Sado-kun, finding him dazed but still conscious. I cradle his head in my lap, wiping away the blood as best I can, keeping an eye on Kurosaki-kun as he fights, hoping he wins and no more hollows come.

* * *

Ishida was surprised when I suddenly ditched our sparring match, but I didn't really have time to give a damn about his reaction because Inoue was in trouble. I raced as fast as I could to where my tag said she was, hoping that things would last long enough for me to get there and save her. The fear flowing through me made it hard to think. _What if I didn't get there in time? _That one question kept running through my head, taunting me with its "what if." I quickly moved over the roof tops, heading straight for her position.

I got lucky. I got there just in time to stop the hollow from finishing off her and Chad. The relief that she's unhurt calms my wild thoughts, allowing me to focus on finishing what I came here to do. I reassure her and tell her to take care of Chad while I handle the hollow. I summon my second blade and take off its hand in a single strike. I follow up with a flaming slash to its stomach and it punches at me with its still attached hand. I jump back to avoid the blow, swirling past its side and opening a large gash on its leg, crippling it further. The hollow's roars are now just pitiful to my ears, all bark and no bite. I coat my longer blade in black flames and strike, cutting it in half from tail bone to the tip of its nose. It begins to disintegrate and I dismiss my blades as I walk back to Inoue and Chad.

It seems that Chad has returned to working order during that short battle as he's sitting up and holding his head.

"You okay, Chad?" I ask. He just gives a slow nod in reply as he works his way to his feet, staggering a bit. Inoue frets over him, but he waves her off.

"How'd you know to come?" Chad asks, finally giving up on trying to correct me. It's not that I have anything against him, it's just what stuck.

"I tagged Inoue so I'd know when she was in trouble so I could help. The tag caught the hollow reiatsu, so here I am."

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun. We wouldn't have made it if you hadn't come." Inoue says quietly, gratitude laced into her words. Chad nods in agreement.

"Ah, no problem." I reply, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. "There's no need to thank me, you know." Inoue just smiles at me and Chad gives me a thumbs up. "Um, so let's get you guys home or wherever it is you're going."

"We're headed back to the temple. Are you coming with us Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks as we head off.

"Yeah. I'll at least stick around 'til we're almost there."

Ishida catches up with us when we're about halfway there and lays into me for just ditching him like that with no explanation, but I just mostly ignore him, which results in more arguing. She just laughs, making me very happy I got there in time to save her. I'm not sure what I'd have done if I hadn't, but I doubt it would have been good. For me or anyone else.

* * *

"It would seem that Kurosaki Ichigo has gained new attachments to several different individuals." The monotone voice reports.

"Oh? Mind reading the list of them to me?" Aizen asks, though it is really a command.

"Of course, Aizen-sama. He has been spending time in the company of Ishida Uryu, the Quincy who fought Leon Fuego with him, Sado Yasutora, a fullbringer in the employ of the Gotei 13, Kuchiki Rukia, a shinigami, Urahara Kisuke and his people, and Inoue Orihime, a human high schooler employed at the Daitaiyo Temple. His closest connection seems to be with that woman." The monotone voice reports.

"I see. It seems he has picked some sturdier people to surround himself with this time." Aizen smirks, "But he still has a weak link in his armor. The boy is so foolish to leave such an important piece so vulnerable, but that just makes things easier for us." Aizen sits back further into his throne, a pleased smile on his face as his eyes gleam with cruelty. "I want you to gather information on Inoue Orihime, find out how they are defending her. Look into the others as well, but prioritize the girl." He demands.

"Hai, Aizen-sama. I will report back my findings once I'm done." The monotone voice replies, bowing before leaving.

_Kurosaki Ichigo, you are a fool, leaving your heart out for the world to see, putting it in the hands of someone so fragile. I will make your world crumble and fall._

* * *

So that's that. I got some more Chad in there and before you can complain about him being weak or something, he got jumped and hit in the head. That tends to disorient people and leave them unable to fight, sorry I wanted an Ichigo to a small rescue.

Please note that I intend to start a second story soon to hopefully get my crazy muse to play nice by giving it two stories o bounce between. However, there's a problem: I don't know which of my story shots from my Idea Dump to expand on. Every chapter has like one review saying it's good. This does _nothing_ to help me pick one! So please read and review/pm me to get me to write your favorite, otherwise I'm going with whatever _AoNoBleachShoujo,_ the author I beta for on here, chooses.

Also, check out my new one shot, _FUN Warning_. I posted that like, yesterday or something, and people seem to like it, so you guys check it out too.

**Anywho, please comment/review to tell me how I did.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note**

Hey, it's been a little while. I've been kind of busy starting my other story and watching Code Geass. Johnny Yong Bosch is a great Lelouch. So yeah.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The days have been peaceful. Everyone who knows about Kurosaki-kun getting free is getting along well with him. Rukia-chan and Sado-kun have both started to spar with Kurosaki-kun along with Ishida-kun. Apparently that was what Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun were doing when Sado-kun and I got attacked by those two hollows. Rukia-cha always seems grumpy when she comes back from sparring Kurosaki-kun, but she'd never tell me why. Kurosaki-kun says she's just a sore loser. I wish I could watch them spar, using their super-duper special techniques and being awesome like super heroes! Unfortunately, they seem to be really good at picking times when I can't go because of work, homework, or hanging out with Tatsuki-chan.

_Crack_

I pout as I look at the poor little shovel in my hand. _Mean weeds_. The shovel has broken, though I suppose that can be expected since it's a cheap plastic one. I sigh and Kurosaki-kun gets up from where he was laying among the flowers to rub against my side, silently imploring me to tell him what's wrong.

"Poor Froggy-san broke." I lament the green, plastic, frog-faced shovel. "He was such a cute shovel and now the evil weeds have killed him! Well, I won't let his death go unavenged! Say your prayers and prepare to get pulled, evil weeds!" I rally, pumping a fist in the air.I get back to work, but things are slowed down without Froggy-kun. Kurosaki-kun helps a bit when nobody's looking, burning away the weeds I show him by just batting them with a paw.

After all the work is done, I go to put the tools away in the gardening shed. I look down at the poor fragments of Froggy-san, eyes getting watery. Taking a breath, I toss the remains into the garbage bin, only for them to get plucked out of the air by tan hands.

"So you really liked the design of this shovel?" Kurosaki-kun asks, inspecting the fragments he now holds in his hands, having switched to his human form without my noticing. I blink at him wondering where he's trying to go with this question. He seems to pick up on my confusion and elaborates, "What I mean is, if you got a new shovel, would you want it to look like this one?" He shakes the remains of Froggy-san in front of me, holding it together so that it looks whole.

"You mean a Froggy-san Junior?" I ask, looking up at him. He nods his head in reply, carefully watching for my reaction. "That'd be great!" I say hopping up and down. "Ah… but I wouldn't want to inconvenience Kurosaki-kun or make you buy anything for me." I mumble, looking to my feet. His warm chuckle rings out and I look up to see him smiling at me.

He puts his hand atop my head, _it's big_, and ruffles my hair. "Don't' worry about it. I'll make you a new one that'll be sturdier than this plastic thing. Besides, I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to do it, yeah?" He looks down at me, warm eyes and a peaceful grin on his face. "I think I can get it done by tomorrow, so I'll see you then. Later, Inoue." He says, taking a few steps before he disappears in that high speed stuff that everyone else can do.

I ponder what he's said as I head back in for dinner. He said he'd _make_ a new shovel for me, but how's he going to do that? Is he going to carve one from wood? Somehow make one out of plastic? Or maybe out of fire? I giggle at that one. I'm not sure how you'd use a shovel made of fire. It'd bake the ground and make it hard to dig in or burn the plants. No, I don't think he'll make my new shovel out of fire. I suppose I'll have to wait and see.

* * *

I carefully heat the metal so that it's soft enough to mold, but not enough for it to warp or bend. I set my claw against it and carefully carve out the rings that define the eye. This shovel is trickier than I thought it was going to be when I started, but I'm almost done. It feels good to be doing work like this again. I'm really glad I asked Urahara to get me reequipped so I can forge again. I hum as I carve the finishing details on the shovel. I suck the heat out of the metal and look at the finished product. It'll need a bit of paint and a cover on the handle, but it's practically an exact replica of the silly looking plastic shovel, except it won't break nearly as easily as that flimsy thing. I nod to myself, satisfied with the shape, and prepare to start polishing and buffing the metal when...

"Are you here, Kurosaki-kun?"

I start at the sound of her voice, cursing as I almost drop the shovel. I really need to get better at sensing other people's presences.

"Uh, yeah! Just give me a second." I call back, putting the shovel down and grabbing my shirt off a peg. I try reverting to my human form, but it doesn't do much with all the fire I've got running in me for forging. I grumble a few errant curses as I slip the shirt on, hating how it won't go all the way down in the back because of my tail. At least I managed to get my horns to retreat, they're an absolute pain in the ass when trying to put on shirts. I suppose I'm just lucky they came when I was almost done and it wasn't a major forging. I leave the forge Urahara kindly built for me in his secret basement, grabbing the unfinished shovel to see if Inoue likes it.

* * *

Somehow, Orihime convinced me to come with her and Sado to check on that flaming moron, so here I am, in that ridiculous secret basement, waiting for said moron to some out of the special secondary shop thing that's been built down here. The shop thing is new, or at least, it was put in between now and when I was here last, so in the last couple of days. I finger my zanpakuto while we wait. Orihime has mentioned that she'd like to see a sparring match, so is that why she asked me to come?

When Ichigo comes out, I'm surprised. I haven't actually seen anything of his yokai form in all the short time I've known him. It's surprisingly human, or maybe it's not his full form. His skin is now pure white with a pair of deep red, almost black, stripes running from his hairline, down through his eyes, and continuing down his throat to disappear under his shirt. His eyes are bright yellow surrounded by black, somehow reminding me of fire in the distance at night. His hair is now as long as Orihime's, though he's tied it back, probably to keep it out of his way. There are also tufts of red fur encircling his wrists, ankles, and neck. A long, lizard-like tail trails behind him, tipped with the same almost black coloring with a waving pattern going out from the tip like it got dipped in something and then ran down his tail some. He shifts nervously under our gazes, there's no way I'm the only one staring, hand coming up to rub the back of his head.

"Ah, hey guys." He nervously says, coming forward to us. "I know I look kinda weird right now and–" He stops mid-sentence, suddenly stiffening. "Inoue, what are you doing?" he asks, slight panic in his voice as he turns to face her.

"Looking at your tail." She says calmly, _innocently. _She is holding his tail, fingers softly running over it. "It's covered in teeny-tiny scales." She giggles, not a care in the world as Ichigo just stands there, staring at her, frozen. My curiosity piqued, Sado's too I suppose, we step up next to Orihime and run our own hands over his captured tail, ignoring the further stiffening of Ichigo from our touch. She's right. While they're hard to see, I can feel the small scales that cover his tail underneath my fingertips. They feel ruff and abrasive as he suddenly yanks his tail away from our hands.

"Hey! I wasn't done looking!" I shout at Ichigo.

"Like I give a damn!" he roars back, holding his tail close to his chest. "You two," he points a clawed finger at me and Sado, "should know better! Ask before you just start touching me all willy-nilly, dammit! That's like if I just went and randomly started playing with your hair or something. It's damn weird and awkward and I don–" His tirade is cut off by a hiccupping sob.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Ku-Kurosaki-ku-kun." Orihime sobs. "I-it's my f-fault. I t-touched you t-tail first. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable and angry. I–"

"Agh, it's not your fault, Inoue. I'm not used to people just touching me like that and you guys took me by surprise. So quit crying already, please." He tries calming her down, releasing his tail to put a hand on her shoulder, though his tail remains tucked close to him. He is so whipped if he gives into her crying this easily.

"What's that in your hand?" Sado asks out of the blue.

"Huh? Oh, you mean this?" Ichigo holds up his left hand, revealing something triangular made of metal. "This is the new hand shovel I promised to make for Inoue. Um, here, take a look and tell me what you think, Inoue." He says handing it off to her. Is _that_ why we're here? To accompany Orihime while she gets a _shovel_ from this guy? What the hell.

Orihime squeals in delight. "Look, Rukia-chan!" she says, holding the shovel up in my face. "It looks just like Froggy-san! Isn't it cute?" she chirps, bouncing in excitement and joy. I study the little shovel and have to admit it is kinda cute, but it'd be cuter if it was a bunny.

"Oh, uh, glad you like it." He says, rubbing the back of his head, it's gotta be a nervous habit, looking down at the ground. "It's not quite done yet though. I still need to polish it up and get a proper handle on it. I was also considering painting it so it looks more like your old one, but I haven't really decided on that yet, so…"

"It's fine if you don't paint it." Orihime claims. "It'll look great just like this. Thank you so very much Kurosaki-kun." She says, a sincere smile on her face.

"You're welcome." He says, voice low and soft as he looks away, but I thought I saw… something, I don't know what, flash in his eyes as he said those words.

"So you're a Smith?" Damn, what is with Sado today, asking questions out of the blue like that?

"Hmm? Oh, um, well, I am a Shiba, but I'm not quite a smith. I mean, I know all of the techniques and stuff, but I haven't really earned the title." He embarrassedly explains. I know I'm looking at him curiously, and I guess the others are too because he further explains, "In the Shiba clan, you're not considered a true Smith until you forge a zanpakuto on your own. I helped my dad make a couple and I've fixed plenty of them, but I've never made one without any help. So I'm not a real Smith, but I can pretty much do all the work expected of a Smith."

"I'm surprised they'd seal you, Smiths are so rare now. I think that there's actually only two others besides you right now and they're pretty reclusive. They only deal with the Gotei 13 when we go to them." I sadly state, thinking about how I helped ruin our relationship with some of the most important individuals to the shinigami. After all, without them a broken zanpakuto is practically a death sentence.

"Yeah, well I was causing a lot of trouble. Being a Smith actually made it worse." He morosely states. He sighs, "I was in a bad place and, honestly, I wasn't trying to get better. Sure, I was targeting people they wouldn't give a damn about if they died, but the fact that I had trouble stopping myself, discriminating between friend and foe once I got started… well, I'm sure you get the idea." He says with a shrug, acting like it doesn't matter, though I'm pretty sure it bothers him, a lot. I may not have known him for long, but Ichigo is a nice guy, except when you do something that angers him so much he loses his reason. He scowls and acts grumpy, but it is just an act. He's trying to guard his cracked heart by only letting the people who will truly care get close to him. It's obvious that in that past of his, where he was mindlessly hunting these 'bad people', he hurt others, Gotei 13 members most likely, and he regrets having hurt them. The truth is, I can see some of me in him. I can see that he's burdened by his past, just as mine burdens me, but unlike me, he's not nearly as recovered from it. I can see why, I mean, he's got the threat of being sealed, possibly killed, hanging over his head because of it. Me, I just have the unresolved guilt and occasional nightmare. He may be older than me, but he still acts like he's younger. In some ways, he is though. I know he's been sealed for over one hundred years, but he had less than twenty to see the world, to mature and learn. I suppose in some ways, I see him as a little brother. Someone lost and needing my guidance. Rukia-onee-chan. I like the sound of that. It means I get to boss the moron around.

We chat some more about lighter subjects with the sound of rasping metal in the background as Ichigo runs the shovel along his tail, slowly bringing out a polished and bright appearance as he files it. I demand a Chappy the Rabbit pin from him during our conversation which he rudely rejects until I _lovingly_ convince him with my fist. We leave later, Ichigo promising to deliver the finished shovel tomorrow. It's been a good day, peaceful and fun. How I wish days like this would never end.

* * *

I stare into the dying forge fire, done metal working for today. I may not use the forge Urahara's provided as often as my own fires, but I do use it. I try to lose myself in the flickering flames, to squash down the memories of the past, but she reminded me of them. It was innocent, what Inoue did, thanking me for my work, but it reminded me of what practically started the mess that became my life.

_"__Thanks, Ichigo. It's wonderful!" she says, excitement sparkling in her orange eyes._ If I looked closer, would I have seen her sadness, her regret?_ She picks up the monk's staff, the rings jingling as they clash with one another._

_"__I'm glad you like it. I made it just for you, Senna." The orange-haired boy replies, wide smile on his face. _I thought maybe she could fill it, that emptiness inside. I felt like her praises might fill me up, but they never really did._ The boy begins to point out all the features, the small details on the staff. He never expected what would come next. Not what would happen to her, nor him. An innocent gift that somehow started a war, bringing a mad man down on him and his family._

_"__She's dead, Ichigo. Senna tried to kill a captain and was sentenced to death."_

_"__Why?" his voice trembles as he asks._

_"__According to her, she couldn't use you anymore, not for him."_

_"__Who is he?" a slight trace of anger in the words._

_"__Aizen Sousuke."_

_About a week later, Aizen was found guilty of treason when he stole a special artifact. He fled, raised an army, and went to war with the Gotei 13._ Urahara said that in the end, Aizen retreated and has been flitting in and out of the shadows ever since. I suspect Urahara knows at least part of the reason why, but he hasn't told me. It doesn't matter.

I'll kill the bastard if I ever get the chance.

* * *

So, what do you guys think? I've had the idea of Ichigo being a Smith for a while now and finally can get to it here. For those wondering, yes, Ichigo's yokai form is based off his Vasto Lorde/final versus Ulquiorra form, but I decided that he should have the tail from visored training. Orihime's shovel is based off of those cheap plastic things you can find in stores for little kids to use because those things are cute and I think she'd use one.

Check out my second story _Harry Potter and the Weirdos from Japan_. As I'm sure you can tell from the title, it's a cross-over, Bleach/Harry Potter. This was the pick of _AoNoBleachShoujo _and somehow it's already got like 80 followers, over twice as many as this. How did that happen?! So yeah, check it out.

**Please review/comment to tell me how I did.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notelake**

Sorry, sorry! I've left you guys hanging for over a month. Bad me! This chapter fought me a bit and the internet is too distracting! But I was also kinda busy doing prep for and going to Salt Lake ComicCon! It was AWESOME! If you went, you might have seen me as a dual blade shikai Ichigo. I also got to meet JONNY YONG BOSCH! It was super cool. He said that he was also sad that the anime is over and doesn't get to the Thousand Year Blood-War arc. Um, and once a month might be how things go now because college starts tomorrow and I have no idea how that'll effect my schedule. So, yeah.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

I fire off another icy blast at the monsters that have dared to attack my nii-sama's temple, freezing two of them solid and catching a third's arm in the ice block. They had come suddenly in the night, attacking us and going after the seals. Our defense would be laughable with their numbers if it weren't for our individual strength. Three fukutaicho class shinigami, one of the more powerful fullbringers out there, and me, a should-be-a-seated-officer-but-nii-sama-won't-allow-it level shinigami, versus an ungodly amount of small-fry, near-hollow yokai with a couple of stronger ones thrown in to spice things up. Yeah, this fight _sucks_.

I dodge a set of claws, retaliating with a slash of my zanpakuto, cutting its arm open. We've been lucky enough so far to keep them bottled up in the statue garden where the majority of the Sealed are lesser yokai and animalisticly stupid. Our opponents have broken several of the seals, but we've done a fairly good job defending them. For once I'm glad that nii-sama insisted that we did a full check back then, seeing as the restrengthened seals are giving tonight's _visitors_ trouble.

I slay another of our attackers before jumping back and up onto one of the building's roof for a small breather. That stuck up Quincy or the flaming moron would be really useful right about now. Numbers are our only problem tonight. Renji has already sent word to nii-sama, but it's hard to say when he'll get here, so until then we just have to hold out.

As I prepare to return to the fray, I notice a cloaked figure slipping through the fray, heading further into the temple grounds. I tilt my head as I try to figure why they would head that way, there's no seals over there, just our living quarters. Wait… Orihime! When we noticed the attack force, I told her to hide in her room. I take off quickly to try and head them off. There's no time to tell Renji or any of the others, it's up to me to protect her. I finger the Chappy pin on my shirt. '_I'll give you your stupid pin, just do me a favor and keep Inoue safe in return, okay?_' Of course I agreed, I would have done it without him telling me, but there was something in his eyes that made it feel like a contract. Well, I'm certainly not going back on that promise.

I land lightly in a courtyard and a few moments later the cloaked intruder enters. He comes to a stop before me, and I notice he is taller than Ichigo, but shorter than Renji.

"Heh. And here I thought we brought enough fodder to keep you all busy." He says in a snide tone. "Oh well, I like it better this way anyway. It'd be damn boring if I didn't get to fight." I can hear the grin in his voice and it has all of my senses on high alert.

"What are you here for?" I demand, staring him down.

"If you wanna know so bad, then beat the answer out of me!" He shouts, arms spread wide as if inviting me to attack. "Course your friends will find out anyway, but it'll be after I've killed you!" he roars, charging forward. I side step the spear hand he aims at my chest, crouching down to get in close and swing my blade up at him. He quickly twists away, allowing space between us. It is in that slight reprieve that I feel the warmth trickling down my face and the red stain on his fingertips.

He charges forward once more and I swing my blade, a circle of cold air forming on the ground. In a second, a pillar of ice erupts from the circle, catching him in it. I stare wide eyed, heart pounding in my chest, at the hand that is centimeters away from piercing my chest. It doesn't so much as twitch, even when I nudge it with my zanpakuto. Satisfied that he isn't going anywhere until I unfreeze his ass, I turn away to go back and help the others.

That was a mistake.

The sound of shattering ice reaches my ears and I barely turn in time to block his blade from splitting me from shoulder to hip. I grit my teeth against the pain of his sword getting into my shoulder and slip back out from under his blade.

"What'sa matter? Did'ja think you beat me with that little move back there? Think again!" He taunts me, taking pleasure in my shock.

We exchange a flurry of blows. I can tell that while his fighting style is rather instinctual and unrefined, comparable to Ichigo's style, he out classes me in strength and speed. It takes all my skill to keep up with his pace and avoid the blows that would break my guard. He still slips in some small strikes, leaving lines of blood. I do my best to blast him with Sode no Shirayuki's cold, but my ability to do so is compromised quite heavily by my constant need to move at full speed. I have no time to truly internalize her chill, much less adjust to moving in the dead state of her absolute chill.

He laughs manically as I struggle to hold him off. "Come on, shinigami! At least give me a challenge!"

We exchange blows again. It just drives in further that I am battling at a disadvantage, but I will not give in. My pride as well as the need to protect my friend denies me that luxury. So I soldier on, blocking and dodging as best I can. If nothing else, I'm lucky that this guy is more interested in fighting me than continuing further into the temple grounds for whatever it is he's after, unless his actual goal is killing me. Then I'm screwed.

I pull back, trying to get some distance between us. It seems to be working until I stumble, falling backwards onto my behind. My attacker does not fail to try to capitalize on my blunder. A powerful two handed overhead strike aimed for my head, blade reflecting the moonlight.

"It's over, shinigami!" he shouts, as the blade descends. There is no time to remove myself from the path of his blade, so I do the only things I can: I brace my blade and take the attack as best as I can.

Something is off. Something is wrong about how his blade hit my mine, but before I can try to figure it out, a cloud of pink slams into his side, blood splashing to the ground.

"Nii-sama!" I breathe out, looking behind me to see his noble form illuminated by the moonlight. We're saved. Relief floods my system. Nii-sama is a taicho, no invader stands a chance against him.

"Get up, Rukia." he quietly demands, voice calm and sure. I quickly scramble to my feet, wincing as my movements pull at some of my wounds. None of them are serious but they still hurt like hell. "Go back, help the others. I will deal with this one."

"Hai, nii-sama!" I sketch a quick salute. "Ah! You should know, Orihime's back in the bedrooms. We took her there at the start."

A roaring scream comes from my attacker as he launches himself at nii-sama. Nii-sama nods his head, directing his swarm of blades to battle my attacker. "I see. We'll deal with those problems later. Now go."

"Hai!" I dash back to the main battle, confident that nii-sama can handle the intruder. I throw myself back into the mess of a battle in statue garden, slashing and bringing down crazed yokai left and right. There are so many and we could certainly use nii-sama's swarm of petal blades, but I know that it's more important for nii-sama to take care of the more powerful intruder.

I cut down a naga, but I was too late to prevent it from releasing the seal on a lesser oni trapped in a statue. The oni comes to life, shedding its stone shell as it swings at me with a back fist. I duck under its arm, only to have to bring up my blade to block its second punch. That feeling that something is wrong is back as its fist impacts my blade. I move quickly around it, dodging its wild swings. In truth, I'm scared to try blocking again. That feeling of wrong bothers me, scares me, beyond belief. I'm not sure what's wrong, but I don't want to make it worse. I dance around the oni, waiting for the opportunity to finish it off. Finally, one of its punches throws is over powered and throws it off balance. I dart in and cut its chest open, freezing it. I skip back, watching the oni freeze over.

_Crack_.

My eyes travel down my arm, my hand, to the pure white Sode no Shirayuki. The upper half of the blade flashes in the moonlight as it descends towards the ground, independent of the lower half. An agonized scream echoes through my head. I barely notice that my own throat is going raw from my own harmony with the scream that no one else can hear.

Then the pain hits.

It is bone crushing. It feels like I've been split in half myself. It burns through my blood. Everything is agony, every breath, every beat of my heart. I think I've hit the ground, I can't tell through all this _pain_.

_Please… make it stop… make it stop… make it STOP!_

* * *

Her scream pierces my every thought. It breaks my concentration, my calm. It is a cry of absolute agony, one that I have heard before and chills me to my core. I hurry back from where I have just finished dealing with the intruder, only to see her fallen on the ground, eyes wide and ragged breathes escaping her. One of the beasts who dares to defile my home looming over her.

The chill of fear is overwhelmed by fury. Fury at those that harmed her, and fury at myself for not protecting her as I promised I would. I channel this fury, shaping it into strength, and send my many blades swarming over those that would defile my home and pride. Their pitiful cries do little to sooth my wrath.

Once the area is cleared of all vermin, I withdraw my blade. The anger ebbs as I turn my attentions back to my downed sister-in-law. My fear for her condition clouds my senses and I pay the price when her original assailant cuts me from behind. Pain flashes, sharp and hot, across my senses, not helped by my quick movements to block the next attack. Steal clashes as I struggle to hold him back. This one is tenacious, I'll give him that. To have been hit by Senbonzakura as he was and still continue to fight would take immense strength and a high tolerance for pain. Just as I fear my strength will prove ineffective, I am saved by my loyal fukutaicho as he attacks from behind the assailant. Renji only catches the edge of his tattered cloak, but it is enough that he is no longer pressing down on me. I prepare to release my blade once more when, with a quite curse, the assailant flees. I curse myself for being in no condition to follow the attacker.

"Sorry, I didn't get him, sir." Renji quietly apologizes. He turns to help me, but I can tell the moment he lays eyes on her. "Rukia!" he shouts, rushing to her side. "Rukia! Can you hear me? Say something!" He shakes her shoulders a bit before rolling her onto her back to check her injuries.

"What?!" Having rolled her over, Renji has revealed what I feared when I heard her scream. Her once pure zanpakuto is now split in two. "Oi! Rukia! Come on, wake up! Answer me, damn it!"

Renji keeps pushing at her, trying to awaken her, to get her to respond, but the chances of that are low. There is a reason that a broken zanpakuto is often considered fatal. The pain of the spirit that has merged with you dying is more than most can handle, so while it is possible to break the bond and spare the wielder from sharing in death, it rarely occurs. We need a Smith to fix her zanpakuto, to save her, but will they do it? Help the one who killed one of their own? And even if they would help, will they make it in time? The chance that she will not be saved, that they might not make it in time, chills me to my very core. I swore to my dear Hisana that I would protect her sister, and yet I have already failed. No. I have not failed yet. There is still time, still a chance, so I must act.

"Abarai-fukutaicho." I command, but he does not respond. "Abarai-fukutaicho." I try a little louder, yet he does not stop his useless actions. "Abarai-fukutaicho!" I finally have his attention as he looks up at me, lost and scared. "Take a gate to Seireitei and get Unohana-taicho. She will be able to slow down the… mortality process. Also, send out a request to the Smiths so that Rukia's zanpakuto can be repaired." He continues to stare at me like a lost child. "Do not sit here. Go!"

"Y-yes sir!" he says with a quick salute before hurrying off.

As the other officers gather, I have them move Rukia inside, careful to make sure all the blade fragments are gathered. I wait at her bedside for Renji's return, having sent the others to check our damages and start preliminary reports. They were not happy, but understood.

"Kuchiki-sama…?" a soft voice asks from the doorway. I turn slightly to see the Inoue girl standing there, a first aid kit clasped against her chest. I raise an eyebrow, which she takes as a sign to continue. "Y-you're bleeding. An-and that's not good, so if you don't mind," at this point she is staring at her feet, "I'd like to at least give you so-some first aid. Rukia-chan wouldn't want you to neglect yourself for her."

I quietly watch her fidget, peaking up before she looks back down again. After the unbelievable things she has seen tonight, she is still willing to treat us so normally? She is a rare kind of person and her kindness is a blessing to those around her. "You may do so."

She quietly shuffles in as I turn my attention back to Rukia. To break a zanpakuto is a difficult feat. The man I fought earlier was the strongest I could sense and, with the amount of power he was using, he should not have been able to break her blade. Was it a special skill? No. It couldn't have been, or why not use it on my own zanpakuto? These questions and troubles plague my mind. How cou– I let loose a hiss as Inoue-san teases my shirt free of the large cut across my back, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Sorry, sorry." she chants. "Um… I n-need you to take off y-your sh-shirt so I c-can treat your w-wound be-better, K-Kuchik-sama." she stutters, nerves apparent. I comply with her request and she continues my treatment. I utter no sound as she applies disinfectant, nor wince when she swabs the wound. Her ministrations fall into the background as I continue to question my failure. I do not hear her announce that she's finished treating me, barely register when Matsumoto lays a haori over my shoulders. It is only when Inoue-san places a washcloth onto Rukia's forehead that I look up, questions in my gaze.

"Eto, Rukia-chan looks like she has a fever, s-so I thought a cool washcloth might help." She mumbles, nervously wringing her fingers.

"It certainly does help, and I'm sure I can help Rukia-san some more."

I whip my head around to find Unohana-taicho gracefully gliding into the room, Renji hovering behind her. She settles on the other side of Rukia and begins her administrations. I watch her skillful hands go to work, a soft blue-green glow enveloping them as she works.

"You know that I can only slow the process, Kuchiki-taicho." she says, eyes never leaving her patient. "I would say that she has eight hours, ten at best, to have her zanpakuto reforged before she dies." Both Renji and Inoue-san gasp at this revelation.

"Renji, how long until the Smith arrives?" I ask turning to him.

He seems to choke a bit at this question and my eyes narrow. "Sir! I, um… I don't know, sir." He says looking guiltily off to the side. "When I made the request, they said they didn't know where the Smiths' current residence is, but that as soon as they find it, they'll send word."

"I see." is all I say. It is all I can say. Without a Smith, Rukia will die. Eight hours is barely long enough as it is, and who knows how long it will take to find Shiba Kukaku and Ganju. This is practically the worst situation possible. The Gotei doesn't know where– the _Gotei_ doesn't know, but I can think of two who might. I immediately rise to my feet and head for the door, there is no time to waste.

"Kuchiki-taicho! Where are you going?" Renji says.

"To get help." I reply, sliping my arms through the haori's sleeves as I glide out of the room.

I briskly walk to our Gate, tugging my key out of my pocket and slipping it into the lock. I take a fortifying breath. Where I go is not a place for the naïve or weak willed. It is not pleasant and the price I will pay is horrible, but I must go. I will not fail Hisana. I turn the key, open the door, and step through, prepared for the torture that awaits me.

"Haven't seen you in a while… Byakuya-bo."

* * *

"You have failed."

"Sorry… Aizen-sama." he pants out.

"I did not ask much of you, Grimmjow. All I asked was that you bring me one girl, yet you cannot do something as simple as this? I even sent you on a night when Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't present, and still you failed."

Grimmjow quietly growls before replying, "That's bullshit! Kuchiki's the bastard that got in the way! It's not my fa–"

"That's enough, Grimmjow." Aizen calmly cuts him off. "It seems that it was a mistake to send you on a mission like this. They will be on the lookout now." He lets loose a tired sigh. "It seems I should have entrusted such delicate plans as kidnapping to someone else. Next time, Grimmjow, if I order you to kidnap someone, either come back with them or come back dead. Ami clear?"

"Yes sir." Grimmjow begrudgingly replies.

* * *

So that's the chapter. I can't help but think that Byakuya's kinda melodramatic inside his head, maybe. I don't know, but it does make him kinda funny at the end. Yep. For those wondering, Grimmjow cracked Rukia's blade and when she kept fighting it kept getting worse until that final blow was too much and it split. Oni's have thick skin so she had to swing extra hard.

**Please comment/review to tell me how I did.**


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